The pastry chef who patented an anti-cancer molecule that's been bought for over $8 billion

"It was the 1980s, and the family confectionery was located in a working-class neighborhood between Barcelona and the city of Hospitalet de Llobregat. There were tons of drugs; some of my friends ended up badly addicted to heroin. On Saturdays, I would go with my mother to the pastry shop so that she wouldn't be alone: we were constantly being robbed at knifepoint. It was a pretty rough time, Batlle recalls."

"Inspired by the 1980s television series Cosmos, he studied biology and, a decade ago, he and five colleagues invented a molecule, petosemtamab. In its initial trials, it has shown apparent promise in curing some cases of cancer. The Danish company Genmab has just paid around seven billion euros ($8.2 billion) to acquire this experimental drug, co-designed by the former pastry chef."

"This small vial was used to treat the first person to try the drug, back in May of 2018. The initial results were promising, but the real surprise came six months ago. Petosemtamab combined with standard immunotherapy achieved the complete remission of tumors in six people with head and neck cancer. This disease invades the mouth and throat and is associated with tobacco and alcohol use. Of the 43 participants in the trial, 63% had a partial or complete response to the treatment."

Eduard Batlle grew up working in his parents' pastry shop in a rough, working-class neighborhood between Barcelona and Hospitalet de Llobregat, where drug use and armed robberies were common. Influenced by the television series Cosmos, he studied biology and, about a decade ago with five colleagues, invented the molecule petosemtamab. The first human received the drug intravenously in May 2018; early results were promising. More recently, petosemtamab combined with standard immunotherapy produced complete tumor remissions in six people with head and neck cancer, and 63% of 43 trial participants had partial or complete responses. The drug was acquired by Genmab for around seven billion euros.

Read at english.elpais.com