Barry told me this morning that he had heard something on
the radio about the approval of a Pfizer drug for the treatment of breast
cancer. Click on this link and then
click on “Listen to the Story.”
As is the usual nomenclature used in early drug development,
the team referred to this drug by its mechanism of action, a Cyclin Dependent Kinase #4 and
#6, and it came to be known as our “CDK 4,6” compound. Sometime during the three years since I
oversaw that early development work and now, both the drug and I moved on: the
drug has been approved for the treatment of patients under the names palbociclib
(generic) and Ibrance (brand), and I
moved past my own chemotherapeutic regimen.
This event and listening to the news report attached here
may be a somewhat sobering reminder that one seldom uses the word “cure” in reporting
the results of cancer clinical trials. Surely our CDK 4, 6 inhibitor will not
completely cure everyone who takes it. But the way I see it, any increase in
quality and longevity of life is a good thing against such a difficult
adversary. To all my current and past friends from Pfizer, I continue to feel
blessed to have been part of such a bright and dedicated group of clinical
researchers.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Love,
Rebecca
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