Biotech research is the sexy thing these days in the drug business, but that kind of buzz isn’t worth much in Hollywood. With the movie Extraordinary Measures opening this weekend, though, biotech gets its glamour moment.
The movie tells the story of a John Crowley, a father who sets out to find a cure for Pompe disease, a rare disease that afflicts his children. The movie is based on a true story — one that appeared in the WSJ in the early aughts, before being turned into a book. Here’s a 2001 WSJ story on Crowley; here’s an excerpt from the book; and here’s a key passage from a story that ran on the Journal’s front page in 2003:
Seeking a treatment, Mr. Crowley, now 36 years old, quit his job as a financial consultant, met with legions of scientists and teamed up with one. He borrowed $100,000 on his home and 401(k) plan to start a biotech company, then raised $27 million in venture capital when the company developed an enzyme that showed early promise. When he thought he needed the muscle of a big company to get a drug into production and testing, he sold his company to Genzyme Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., for $137.5 million — one of the richest deals ever for a biotech drug untested in humans.
Yet even though Mr. Crowley had moved mountains on the scientific and business fronts to get the treatment into testing, he couldn’t seem to speed the drug to his own rapidly weakening children. When he sold his company, he gave up control of the medicine they needed. The shortage of the drug, conflict-of-interest questions and Genzyme’s own internal protocols rose up in his path. His personal goal — getting the drug to his kids — at times conflicted with the company’s view of how to get the drug to market as soon as possible.
“It ripped me apart,” he says. “Many times, I’d be talking aloud about programs and budgets, and at the back of my mind be thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is not good for Megan and Patrick.’ ”
Extraordinary Bonus: The Boston Globe reports on what people at Genzyme think of the movie. The WSJ’s Speakeasy spoke with Brendan Fraser, who co-stars in the movie with Harrison Ford. Here’s a clip:
Image: Everett Collection