Here are ten of my top candidates for that honor:
Jim Allison, the father of modern immunotherapy; Carl H. June, one of the pioneers of CAR T-cell research; Dennis Lo, who detected fetal cfDNA in the blood and introduced the first commercially available liquid biopsy assay; and Steve Rosenberg, whose hard work led to the world’s first gene therapy that deployed the body’s immune system to fight cancer.Those are ten of my personal heroes. But as much as I admire each of these men and women, there is one person who outshines even these bright stars. The Most Valuable Player in the cancer arena over the last three-plus decades is unquestionably Mike Milken. The more you learn about what he has done nationwide and worldwide, the more I think you will agree.
But this story is focused on his work in the cancer world. And it is extraordinary. I generally avoid hackneyed descriptions like “larger than life” when describing someone in print. But Mike (he prefers Mike) really is. He's dramatically changed the cancer drug landscape.
Mike Milken |
He goes on to say that the physicians and scientists at various elite centers viewed one another as competitors, not collaborators. “They were all drawing from the same small pool of grant money, and they were all trying to attract revenue-producing patients,” he writes.
“It reminded me of when I coached my kids’ soccer games. The biggest challenge was getting the youngsters to stay in position and cooperate as a team rather than everyone running to where the ball is. Too many medical researchers were running after the same scientific ball and not communicating with each other.”
Mike infiltrated the entrenched, isolated cancer "camps" and brought them together to expedite the development of lifesaving cancer modalities and get them to the public. His work has changed the world.
In the book, he shares personal stories about his childhood and what motivated him to become a global cancer warrior. The book works both as a ruminative autobiography (with co-writer Geoffrey Evans Moore) and a primer of how one man really can change an industry.
Mike’s Quixotic dream of speeding up the process of drug development has been his mantra for 50 years. He's succeeded to the point where Fortune describes him as "the man who changed medicine."
CaP CURE
Mike has connected with thousands of medical and scientific experts worldwide. He came up with this list of principles:
• Focus on the career paths of these young physicians.
• Focus on collaboration in place of competition.
• Build cross-sector ties.
• Identify the most promising research not funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
• Eliminate needless bureaucracy.
• Relinquish intellectual property rights in exchange for speed and administrative costs.
• Supplement traditional therapies with proven alternative concepts. Generate public awareness.
• Educate members of Congress.
• Assure other disease groups that we were a resource, not a threat.
• Act with urgency.
The Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream believes anyone with a dream, and the drive to achieve it, should have the opportunity to make it come true— through expanding access to education, health, and economic freedom, and by unleashing the power of entrepreneurship and innovation.
Milken Institute
A non-profit, non-partisan economic think tank whose scholars lead an international dialogue on solutions in the areas of economics, health, aging, human capital, philanthropy and capital markets.
FasterCures
This Washington, D.C.-based think tank is removing barriers to progress against all life-threatening diseases.
Milken Family Foundation
Established in 1982, the Foundation is one of America's leading charitable organizations supporting education and a broad range of medical research.
Bioscience/Public Health
Major recent initiatives include the Milken Institute’s COVID-19 Treatment and Vaccine Tracker, and the biggest health initiative -- The Milken Institute School of Public Health.
Milken Scholars Program
The Milken Scholars Program provides outstanding high school students with a commitment of four years of college financial assistance, counseling, volunteer opportunities and preparation for graduate studies and beyond.
Melanoma Research Alliance
The MRA has awarded approximately $123 million to medical investigators in 18 countries focused on accelerating new therapeutic approaches for melanoma, improving existing treatments, developing new biomarkers and advancing understanding of risk factors. Since 2007, the FDA has approved 13 new melanoma treatments.
Prostate Cancer Foundation
The world's largest philanthropic source of funds for prostate cancer research, the Prostate Cancer Foundation is helping reduce the death rate from one of the most common cancers.
Other Non-Profit Activities
Mike's five decades of philanthropy include many other programs in medical research, public health and education.
In the trial, which I wrote about this week for Healthline, the drug-vaccine combination reduced the risk of death or recurrence of melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer, by 44% compared with Merck’s immunotherapy Keytruda alone.
Several immunotherapies have made their way from the lab to the clinic, largely because of Mike’s support. Keytruda, for example, the checkpoint inhibitor, is now approved for more than a dozen types of cancer. I've written about Keytruda extensively.
The next step of course is a Phase 3 trial, which could lead to a new option for people with melanoma. This is just the beginning of the cancer vaccine combination.
I was originally treated with a type of chemotherapy called CHOP. It was rough. It gave me a remission. But two and a half years later I was back in the trenches.
This time, I took charge of my situation. First thing I did was get a new oncologist, who was much kinder and far more open-minded about my desire to enroll in a clinical trial. I looked far and wide for any and all potential treatments, including trials. I chose to enroll in a Phase 3 trial of a drug called Bexxar, a so-called radio-immunotherapy.
Bexxar not only put me back into remission and saved my life, it cured me. I have many friends who were also cured by that drug. But it was sadly shelved by Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) for all the wrong reasons.
The drug company didn’t effectively market the drug and they clearly didn’t think it was going to be financially advantageous to continue offering this remarkable medicine. I was heartbroken with the drug was scrapped. Because it works.
GSK scientists have certainly done some very good things. But this decision was wrong on all kinds of levels. I have written extensively about Bexxar in Newsweek, where I proudly spent 23 years as a national correspondent, and International Business Times, and The Reno Dispatch news blog you are reading, and many other publications.
I still believe we should resurrect Bexxar and its sister medication, Zevalin, which is also a radio-immunotherapy that showed very good results with minimal side effects. These are both safe and effective medicines that were poorly marketed and underutilized. Perhaps they arrived too soon.