Biotechs and their Nobel-worthy roots

It’s Nobel season, which means another set of basic science researchers will win an award that inevitably tantalizes so many in biotech. Biopharma and the Nobels, after all, have been entwined for decades, with many award-winning technologies being successfully translated into commercial medicines.

Take immunotherapy: The foundations for several blockbuster drugs were laid by Tasuku Honjo and Jim Allison, who won the Nobel in 2018. (Have you seen how? It’s nicely laid out in a new documentary). Allison's discoveries have also been translated into personalized cancer vaccine player Neon Therapeutics.

STAT’s Kate Sheridan outlines how quite a few biotech companies have built their business on Nobel-winning work.