Sam Blackman Speaks from the Heart
A personal account of bringing a new brain cancer medicine to patients
Today was the originally scheduled PDUFA date for tovorafenib (Ojemda®) at the FDA, so we were planning a post to commemorate the expected approval of the drug for BRAF-altered pLGG patients. However, the drug’s NDA was so compelling that the FDA granted Accelerated Approval to Day One Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: DAWN) a week ago (see here and here).
We woke up this morning to a video post from DAWN Co-Founder and Head of Research Sam Blackman, MD/PhD on LinkedIn that, frankly, was so amazing that it made us reach for the tissues to dab away our tears (see linked video above). Sam speaks from the heart about the career-long journey that many of us have navigated as we work to bring new medicines to patients. Given the long odds and low Probability of Success of developing and registering a new drug, especially in brain cancer, the emotions that Sam describes are not experienced by many people. If you want to know what it feels like to really make a difference in the world, please enjoy Sam’s video.
Prediction: One of Sam’s most treasured possessions will be the handwritten “Thank You” notes that he and his DAWN colleagues will receive expressing gratitude for bringing hope and a better life to pLGG patients, their families and their care teams. Amongst all the IPO and deal “tombstones” on the shelves in our office is a box of such “Thank You” notes from patients and their families accumulated over 30+ years in Biotech. It is the only professional award that we have ever really cared about.