Breakthrough

Meet the doctors, scientists and patients patients fighting the world’s worst diseases ‘A must read.’ Siddhartha Mukherjee, bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies What does it take to create a new medicine? The trajectory from laboratory to your neighbourhood pharmacy rarely runs smooth. Drug hunting demands radical leaps of imagination, the expertise of many… and a hefty dollop of luck. Unsurprisingly, ‘eureka’ moments come few and far between – but, when they do, they change lives. Charting the discovery of eight revolutionary drugs, Dr William Pao cuts to the innovative heart of biomedical research and celebrates the tireless work of the scientists, doctors, patients and families fighting for better medical care. For each of these medicines, whether a potentially life-saving new treatment for cancer, or something as commonplace as paracetamol, there stands a cast of characters and a wealth of stories. Documenting these fascinating journeys, Breakthrough grants a privileged, behind-the-scenes look at the medicines that improve – and very often save – our lives. Foreword by Nobel Prize-Winner Harold Varmus *** ‘Utterly compelling.’ Dame Kate Bingham, author of The Long Shot ‘A celebration of medical innovation.’ Guardian ‘Captivating... An essential read.’ Art Levinson, former CEO of Genentech

William Pao is a physician-scientist whose career has spanned academia, industry and biotech. He started his career as a thoracic oncologist, lab researcher and clinical investigator at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and then Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he also served as the Division Chief of Haematology/Oncology. Through executive leadership positions at Roche and Pfizer, he oversaw the discovery and development of portfolios of new molecular entities, many of which have been approved, to treat a variety of diseases. He currently is CEO and Co-Founder of a cancer biotechnology company.