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The Life Scientific: 2018 Chemistry Nobel Prize winner, Sir Gregory Winter

19/02/2019

2018 Chemistry Nobel Prize winner, Sir Gregory Winter

BBC Radio 4 - The Life Scientific, 2018 Chemistry Nobel Prize winner, Sir Gregory Winter

Sir Gregory Winter, winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Sir Gregory Winter, winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, tells Jim how he invented a new class of drugs currently worth $70 billion a year.

In an astonishing story of a scientific discovery, Greg Winter tells Jim Al-Khalili how decades of curiosity-driven research led to a revolution in medicine. Forced to temporarily abandon his work in the lab when a road rage incident left him with a paralysed right arm, Greg Winter spent several months looking at the structure of proteins. Looking at the stunning computer graphics made the pain in his arm go away. It also led him to a Nobel Prize winning idea: to ‘humanise’ mouse antibodies. A visit to an old lady in hospital made Greg determined to put his research to good use. He fought hard to ensure open access to the technology he invented and set up a start up company to encourage the development of therapeutic drugs. It took years to persuade anyone to fund his Nobel Prize winning idea that led to the creation of an entirely new class of drugs, known as monoclonal antibodies. In 2018, the market for these drugs, which include Humira for rheumatoid arthritis and Herceptin for breast cancer, was worth $70 billion.     
Producer: Anna Buckley

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Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires and motivates them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future

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