PRESS RELEASE
September 29, 2009

Australian Dr. Ian Frazer to Receive Honda Prize 2009
for his Achievement in Developing World’s First Cervical Cancer Vaccine

The Honda Foundation, co-founded by Soichiro Honda and his younger brother Benjiro Honda,
and currently headed by Hiromori Kawashima, is pleased to announce the Honda Prize for the year
2009 will be awarded to Dr. Ian Frazer, Director, Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology andMetabolic Medicine, the University of Queensland, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Australia for hiscontribution to the development of the world’s first cervical cancer vaccines. Dr. Frazer will be the30th laureate of the prize.
Fatalities from cervical cancer are second only to breast cancer with 500,000 women developing
the disease and 270,000 losing their lives each year. 80 percent of deaths occur in developing
countries where regular health checks are not systematically available.
The cervical cancer prevention vaccines developed using Dr. Frazer’s technology are now
approved in more than 100 countries across the world, with government sponsored immunization
programs for young women in place in the USA and Australia since 2007. Dr. Frazer’s achievement
is said to be the first case of a cancer being prevented through human intervention.
The cause of cervical cancer is the "Human Papilloma Virus" (HPV). HPV has a number ofstrains, each displaying a range of risk factors that may trigger cancer growth. There are currently
about fifteen known high risk strains connected with the genesis of cervical cancer.
HPV type16 and type18 have been detected from about 70 percent of the cervical cancers thatdevelop in the world. In 1983 a team lead by Professor Harald zur Hausen (winner of the 2008
Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine) at the German Cancer Research Centre extracted HPV
type16 genes and proved this to be a cause of cervical cancer. Researchers from around the world
have worked on the development of a vaccine since then. The vaccines developed using technology
developed by Dr. Frazer trigger the immune system to make antibodies to fight type16 and type18
HPV .
An original method invented by Dr. Frazer, along with his colleague the late Dr. Jian Zhou,
enabled creation of the capsid or outer shell of the virus using recombinant DNA technology as aharmless protein mimic of the real virus. When injected, this capsid or hull of HPV type16 andtype18 is recognized by the immune system and antibodies are produced and stored for future use.

The empty capsids are harmless with no side effects on the human body.
Merck & Co., Inc., N.J. USA and GlaxoSmithKline, UK adopted Dr. Frazer’s basic techniqueand now produce the vaccines on a large scale. Many governments across the world have introduced
public education and awareness programs to encourage the immunization of young women.
Wide application of the vaccines developed with Dr. Frazer’s technology will prevent tens ofthousands of cases of cervical cancer each year. By any measure, this is a massive contribution
towards the health and well being of women across the world, both now and for future generations.
Dr. Frazer developed the vaccine technology through his ingenuity, skill and determination. He
used state-of-the-art science and engineering technology as key supporting elements in his researchendeavor. Dr. Frazer has contributed to the preservation of the seed of the human race. For us, it is anoutstanding example of Ecotechnology * realization, and thus suitable for the Honda Prize.
The 30th award ceremony for the Honda Prize will be held at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo
on November 17th 2009. In addition to the prize diploma and medal, 10 million yen(approximately AUD125,000) will be awarded to the laureate. Dr. Frazer intends to contributethe money to the research team at his University.

* Ecotechnology
Honda Foundation’s guiding principle since 1979 coined from ecology and technology, whereecology connotes the entire global system including human civilization. This technologic concept
calls for harmonious development and use of technology with human beings and theirenvironment.

For more details:
Please visit http://www.hondafoundation.jp or call the Honda Foundation at +81-3-3274-5125; orcall Honda Motor’s Public Relations at +81-3-5412-1512; or call Honda Australia’s PublicRelations at +61-3-9285-5640 or 5626