Race for a Remedy: The Science and Scientists behind the Next Life-Saving Cancer Medicine

by Makhdum Ahmed M.D.

Overview

How does a mere molecule—a chemical structure—become a drug? And, how do we know that it works safely? In a one-trillion-dollar pharmaceutical industry with high-stakes profits and perils, battles are raging every day to successfully bring a molecule to its birth: an FDA-approved medicine. In Race for a Remedy, internationally renowned expert in cancer treatment and drug development Makhdum Ahmed, MD, takes readers behind the scenes of the fascinating and intense world of cancer drug development.

Whether it’s a small molecule, a versatile monoclonal antibody, or the fancy, poster child of cutting-edge cell therapy, modern drugs are built upon a centuries-old solid foundation set by the pioneers of medicine and immunology. This revealing book also explores the struggles for current-day pharmaceutical and biotech industries to overtake competitors and make sure their molecule reaches the finish line first. For leading cancer drug developers, that means achieving the ultimate goal: creating the next live-saving cancer medicine.

Readers will also find answers to common questions on drugs, such as:

• How long does it usually take for a drug to come to market?
• When can we expect a cure for cancers like leukemia and lymphoma?
• Are experimental medicines unsafe?
• Given my illness (or that of my loved one), should I join a clinical trial and what are the odds it will help?

A leading medical expert on the frontlines of drug creation, Dr. Ahmed offers basic pharmacological insights, revolutionary science, and the gripping arc of new drug development. Race for a Remedy will change the way readers think about medicine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633889521
Publisher:	Globe Pequot
Publication date:	07/16/2024
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Makhdum Ahmed, MD, PhD is an award-winning physician-scientist and a drug development executive. He is an Executive Director in Astraéeneca’s research and development in blood cancers. A former Director for the Cancer Moonshots program at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, he was the recipient of the Australian Leadership Awards (2009) and Global Health Corps Fellowship (2011). Ahmed lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife, Zakia and three children: Mayameen, Myreen and Manseeb.

Editorial Reviews

We are entering a remarkable era of medicine, where profound advances in biology are finding expression in the care and treatment of patients. In Race for a Remedy, Dr. Ahmed, an unusually thoughtful physician-scientist and impassioned cancer drug-developer, offers us a rare, first-hand view from inside the arena. With remarkable clarity, he captures the complexity and nuance involved in creating and evaluating new medicines, eloquently integrating his appreciation for medical history, his understanding of emerging technologies, and his heartfelt empathy for cancer patients. The story, at once elevating and grounded, captures the promise of the moment, the excitement of science, the menace of cancer, the anguish of patients and families, and the determination of researchers to make a difference.

David A. Shaywitz

Intriguing... A revealing survey of the processes of drug approval and the future of cancer treatments.

Kirkus Reviews

Using vivid examples and clarifying anecdotes, Makhdum Ahmed uses his unique insights as a pharmaceutical executive-physician-scientist to untangle the convoluted journey a drug must make from bench to bedside. Both timely and much-needed, Race for a Remedy surprises because it is also a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Azra Raza

With passion, thoughtfulness, and an uncommon sympathy for patients, doctors, and scientists alike, Ahmed delivers a brisk, well-ordered inside account of the world of cancer research. Bringing a novel drug to market isn’t merely a race but a 100-mile steeplechase lasting decades and involving countless lives. Ahmed puts himself – and readers – in the middle of the action, providing hope, clarity, and wisdom throughout.

Barry Werth

Ahmed has intertwined his own personal health journey with the stories of how novel therapies have changed outcomes of certain blood cancers in the last 15 years. They show us how the art of science has contributed to advancing this field.

Saad Usmani

In the last twenty years, there has been an explosion of progress in the management of cancer. In Race for a Remedy, Makhdum Ahmed provides a front-row seat to witness the birth of several revolutionary cancer therapies. From the physicians, scientists, and pharmaceutical companies who have helped transform this once dreaded constellation of diseases, a clear picture of hope emerges. For the patients whose lives are turned upside down with the words ’you have cancer,’ Dr. Ahmed demonstrates the passion with which science is racing for their remedy.

Jeff Sharman

We are in a golden age of novel cancer therapies. Race for a Remedy focuses on some of the most important new treatments and brings to life the unseen people whose drive and passion to improve the outcomes for patients helps make this happen. Very well-written and a compelling narrative.

Simon Rule

2024-04-20
How new cancer medications are invented and marketed.

Ahmed, executive director of AstraZeneca’s research and development in blood cancers, explores “the promise and the perils of drugs and their development adventures.” He offers a general overview of the pharmaceutical industry and its recent history, along with a behind-the-scenes perspective on the scientific, economic, and political dynamics of cancer drug development. The author educates readers about how scientists transform molecules into lifesaving or life-extending medicines, the complicated process of FDA approval for new cancer medicines, the intense competition among pharmaceutical companies in the pursuit of technical breakthroughs and the possible massive profits involved, and the prospects for next-generation cancer treatments such as cell therapy and modified antibodies. Several case studies illustrate Ahmed’s claims about how the drug industry operates, and detailed summations of his own experiences in drug development provide a keen sense of the industry’s complexities. Particularly well developed are sections covering the requirements of drug trials and the controversies they sometimes generate. Ahmed’s commentary on the pharmaceutical industry’s ethical character seems balanced overall, and he rightly dismisses conspiracy theories suggesting that companies have cynically suppressed treatments that might cure cancer in favor of marketing lucrative long-term therapies. The author could have written more about the merits of particular national health care policies, as well as where reforms are needed. In a long section discussing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on drug development, for instance, Ahmed is curiously silent about the reasons behind the nation’s failure to respond effectively. A somewhat meandering style and loose organization of topics sometimes compromise the force of the narrative, but the author presents an intriguing insider’s account of his primary subject that should appeal to a fairly wide audience.

A revealing survey of the processes of drug approval and the future of cancer treatments.

Kirkus Reviews