Magic cancer bullet

When the first results from patient trials appeared on Dr. Daniel Vasella's desk in April 1999, the chairman and CEO of Novartis sensed that an important chapter of medical history was about to be rewritten. The results indicated that Gleevac, the tiny orange capsule - the development of which he had spearheaded - was working wonders to arrest a life-threatening form of blood cancer. Here, for the first time, Dr. Vasella recounts the step-by-step challenges of bringing this revolutionary medicine to market and producing it in large enough quantities to make a difference in the lives of patients and their families everywhere in the world. The leaders of major pharmaceutical companies rarely speak out so candidly and comprehensively about their businesses, but in this book Dr. Vasella takes us behind the scenes and reveals the enormous pressures, the heavy costs, and the high risks involved in betting heavily on a drug like Gleevac - regarded by many as the most exciting cancer breakthrough discovery yet - while staying focused on the ultimate goal of saving lives. 'Magic Cancer Bullet' is the first authoritative account of how Gleevac was developed and produced; of how on May 10, 2001 it won the swiftest passage from the Food and Drug Administration ever for a cancer drug; of how, even now, it is changing the lives and outlooks of patients everywhere, bringing hope in bleak and dire circumstances. From his unique vantage point as the man who guided this lifesaving 'magic cancer bullet' from the laboratory to the pharmacy, Dr. Daniel Vasella gives us an insider's account of the scientists, the Novartis executives, and the Gleevec patients on this remarkable journey and he shows whythe story of Gleevec is an intriguing part of the search for a cure to the scourge of cancer, one of the greatest human afflications of our time.