Magic Cancer Bullet: How a Tiny Orange Pill Is Rewriting Medical History

The remarkable story behind the revolutionary miracle cure for cancer, Gleevec. Novartis chairman Dr Dan Vasella describes its development and how he and Novartis orchestrated the break–neck approval and massive production of this amazing drug.

Pharmaceutical giant Novartis recently developed Gleevec, one of the first 'smart' drugs created to kill cancer cells without damaging healthy cells in the process. In early tests with a common form of leukemia and other types of cancer, Gleevec has been extraordinarily successful, and side effects have been astoundingly minimal. Gleevec communicates directly with cancer–causing chromosomes and interrupts the signal that causes excessive growth of certain white blood cells. Patients have seen their tumours shrink significantly, and some have disappeared altogether.

This is the inside story of the creation of this miracle drug, and how Novartis CEO and chairman Dan Vasella rallied the company to bring Gleevec to market in mass quantities and record time.

Dr. Daniel Vasella has been the chairman and CEO of Novartis, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, since it was formed in 1996. A native of Switzerland, he was a practicing physician before joining the industry as a pharmaceutical executive. He spent the first years of his business career in the United States before returning to Switzerland to take up his current position.