The Quest for Life-Changing Medicines, is a book about innovation in drug discovery and tells the stories behind the development of 8 different molecules from 8 different companies. It highlights the unsung heroes of drug development, from the academic scientists interested in nature’s mysteries, to the doctors hoping to help their patients, to the chemists or protein engineers and so many more who strive every day to figure out how to improve how people function, feel, or survive.

A recurrent theme throughout the book is the importance of basic science. Each chapter illustrates how curiousity-driven research performed over many years, often decades, can ultimately lead to breakthrough medicines. Thus, one lesson of BREAKTHROUGH is: No research today = no cures tomorrow.

It's now more important than ever that we speak up in support of the scientific community. It is scientists who make the next big breakthroughs. It is scientists who develop new life-saving medicines. It is scientists who figure out nature’s mysteries and figure out how to harness those insights to improve every day lives. Scientists are not perfect – they are human, too. But they do do what scientists do: seek new insights through rigorous experimentation and follow scientific leads as they unfold. If we believe in the power of science, then let's speak up so that we will continue to develop tomorrow's cures.