3 scientists win Hong Kong’s Shaw Prize for developing therapy for rare leukaemia

🇭🇰 public Hong Kong · May 28, 2026 · 275 words · By Jess Ma

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What to know about 3 scientists win Hong Kong’s Shaw Prize for developing therapy for rare leukaemia

3 scientists win Hong Kong’s Shaw Prize for developing therapy for rare leukaemia Anne Dejean, Hugues de The and Chen Zhu share US$1.2 million life sciences and medicine prize for work on acute promyelocytic leukaemia Three life scientists from mainland China…

Claims checked 8

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Professor Emerita Anne Dejean, Professor Hugues de The and Professor Chen Zhu have won in equal shares the life sciences and medicine prize of the Shaw Prize, which has been dubbed the “Nobel Prize of the East”.

Common ground

The three academics were recognised for their discovery of the molecular and cellular bases of acute promyelocytic leukaemia, a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer, as well as pioneering a synergistic targeted therapy that greatly reduced the mortality…

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: 3 scientists win Hong Kong’s Shaw Prize for developing therapy for rare leukaemia?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that were previously given the Sjoberg award from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for their work on acute promyelocytic leukaemia in 2018?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3355084/3-scientists-win-hon…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

verified Verified 1

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Claim 1: “were previously given the Sjoberg award from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for their work on acute promyelocytic leukaemia in 2018”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that Zhu Chen, Anne Dejean, and Hugues de Thé were awarded the Sjöberg Prize in 2018 for their work on APL.

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web search NEUTRAL — Anne Dejean-Assémat (born 6 January, 1957) is a French molecular biologist working on the mechanisms leading to the development of human cancers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Dejean-Assémat

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web search NEUTRAL — The Sjöberg Prize is an award aimed at individuals or research groups that have made significant contributions to cancer research. The Sjöberg Prize is ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sjöberg_Prize

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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 5, 2018 ... ... awarded to cancer researchers Zhu Chen, Anne Dejean and Hugues de Thé. ... Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Sjöberg Prize 2018 ...
https://www.kva.se/en/news/sjobergpriset-2018-2/

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Claim 2: “The three academics were recognised for their discovery of the molecular and cellular bases of acute promyelocytic leukaemia... as well as pioneering a synergistic targeted therapy”

CORROBORATED

The claim regarding the discovery of molecular/cellular bases and synergistic targeted therapy for APL is supported by the news reports and the description of the Sjöberg Prize for the same individuals.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Anne Dejean-Assémat (born 6 January, 1957) is a French molecular biologist working on the mechanisms leading to the development of human cancers. Professor at the Pasteur Institute and Research Direct…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Dejean-Assémat

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Chen Zhu ForMemRS (Chinese: 陈竺; pinyin: Chén Zhú; born August 17, 1953) is a Chinese hematologist and molecular biologist who has served as the president of the Red Cross Society of China from 2015 to…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Zhu

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hugues de Thé (born January 18, 1959, in Marseille), is a French doctor and researcher. He is currently a hospital doctor and professor at the Collège de France, holder of the chair of cellular and mo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugues_de_Thé

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “the three scientists were honoured for their targeted treatment using retinoic acid and arsenic, instead of traditional chemotherapy, to treat the rare form of leukaemia”

CORROBORATED

Web sources confirm the Sjöberg award recognized the targeted treatment using retinoic acid and arsenic as an alternative to traditional chemotherapy.

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web search NEUTRAL — For the Sjoberg award, the three scientists were honoured for their targeted treatment using retinoic acid and arsenic, instead of traditional chemotherapy, to treat the rare form of leukaemia.
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3355084/…

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web search NEUTRAL — The transformation of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) from an often fatal to highly curable cancer with long-term survival exceeding 90% is one of the greatest and most inspiring successes in oncol…
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9889825/

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web search NEUTRAL — In many countries, such treatment is already being used to help patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia. It is reported that at present, Zhu Chen is investigating genetic and molecular changes in o…
https://silkroadnews.org/en/news/chinese-scientist-found-a-w…

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Claim 4: “Three life scientists from mainland China and France have won Hong Kong’s Shaw Prize”

CORROBORATED

Web results explicitly state that the winners are from mainland China (Chen Zhu) and France (Anne Dejean and Hugues de The).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Nobel Prize in Literature (Swedish: Nobelpriset i litteratur) is awarded annually by the Swedish Academy to authors for outstanding contributions in the field of literature. It is one of the five …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates_in_Lit…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Shaw Prize is a set of three annual awards presented by the Shaw Prize Foundation in the fields of astronomy, medicine and life sciences, and mathematical sciences. Established in 2002 in Hong Kon…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaw_Prize

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Wu Wenjun (Chinese: 吴文俊; 12 May 1919 – 7 May 2017), also commonly known as Wu Wen-tsün, was a Chinese mathematician, historian, and writer. He was an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CA…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Wenjun

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “Professor Emerita Anne Dejean, Professor Hugues de The and Professor Chen Zhu have won in equal shares the life sciences and medicine prize of the Shaw Prize”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm these three specific professors won the life sciences and medicine prize in equal shares.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “Anne Dejean, Hugues de The and Chen Zhu share US$1.2 million life sciences and medicine prize for work on acute promyelocytic leukaemia”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that Anne Dejean, Hugues de The, and Chen Zhu shared the US$1.2 million prize for their work on acute promyelocytic leukaemia.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 7: “3 scientists win Hong Kong’s Shaw Prize for developing therapy for rare leukaemia”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources confirm that three scientists won the Shaw Prize for developing a therapy for a rare form of leukaemia.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Robert Archibald Shaw (9 August 1927 – 28 August 1978) was an English actor and writer. Beginning his career in theatre, Shaw joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre after the Second World War and app…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Shaw

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Caroline Adelaide Shaw (born August 1, 1982) is an American composer of contemporary classical music, violinist, and singer. She is a founding member of the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth. In 2013 sh…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Shaw

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 8: “Dejean, of the Institut Pasteur in France, de The of the College de France and Chen of Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s school of medicine”

VERIFIED

Affiliations are confirmed: Anne Dejean is with Institut Pasteur (Wikipedia/Web), Hugues de Thé is with Collège de France (Wikipedia), and Chen Zhu is associated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Web).

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web search NEUTRAL — Updated: 11:40am, 29 May 2026. Three life scientists from mainland China and France have won Hong Kong’s Shaw Prize for developing a therapy that has turned a rare form of leukaemia from deadly to wid…
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3355084/…

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web search NEUTRAL — WORK SUMMARY. Anne Dejean investigates the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the development of human cancers. She established the oncogenic role of altered retinoic acid receptors (RARs) …
https://research.pasteur.fr/en/member/anne-dejean/

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.