How This Cancer Fighting Drug Survived A 13-Year Trek To FDA Approval | Bradley Fikes

Cancer patients hold onto hope the way some people hold onto the lap bars of roller coasters: As if their lives depend on it. And then they get ready for the ups and downs. Theresa Blanda and Nancy Davidson started their rides after they were diagnosed with rare and debilitating blood cancers that enlarge the spleen and can progress to complications that are fatal. Both volunteered for a clinical trial with a drug developed by a small San Diego biotech company. Unlike the vast majority of trials, which end in disappointment, this one worked for them. The drug, fedratinib, made them better. So much better that Blanda returned to her accounting work in the defense industry. She made plans to marry. She dreamed about traveling. Davidson stopped worrying about whether she would live long enough to see her son and daughter graduate from high school and college. Then, five years into the trial, eight patients developed what appeared to be a dangerous neurological disorder that causes brain swelling and confusion. One died. Was the drug responsible?