Tak Wah Mak
Tak Wah Mak, (; born October 4, 1946, in
China) is a Canadian medical researcher, geneticist, oncologist, and biochemist. He first became widely known for his discovery of the
T-cell receptor in 1983 and pioneering work in the genetics of
immunology. In 1995, Mak published a landmark paper on the discovery of the function of the immune checkpoint protein
CTLA-4, thus opening the path for immunotherapy/checkpoint inhibitors as a means of cancer treatment. Mak is also the founder of
Agios Pharmaceuticals, whose lead compound, IDHIFA®, was approved by the FDA for
acute myeloid leukemia in August 2017, becoming the first drug specifically targeting cancer metabolism to be used for cancer treatment. He has worked in a variety of areas including
biochemistry, immunology, and cancer
genetics.
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