Gleevec seemed to spring up overnight. "Powerful Anti-Cancer Drug Emerges from Basic Biology," trumpeted The New York Times on May 8. Two days later, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its approval after a record-breaking review period of only two and a half months. With words such as "fantastic" and "incredibly important," an impressive array of scientists welcomed the new drug as the first demonstrable success among a new generation of cancer weapons targeting aberrant signaling molecules within cells. Before the month was out, Newsweek was luring readers with a headline that teased "A Cure for Cancer?" continued...

Art: Stuart Bradford

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Reprinted from the HHMI Bulletin,
December 2001, pages 10-15.
©2001 Howard Hughes Medical Institute