Famous Firsts in Pharma
The first antibiotic discovered
What is penicillin?
This painkiller is nicknamed “the wonder drug.”
What is aspirin?
This CRISPR pioneer won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020.
Who are Jennifer Doudna & Emmanuelle Charpentier?
This agency approves new drugs in the US.
What is the FDA?
This TV show features a chemist-turned-drug maker named Walter White.
What is Breaking Bad?
The first vaccine ever created (in 1796)
What is smallpox?
This blockbuster cholesterol drug once held the record for world’s top-selling drug.
What is Lipitor?
This biotech company developed the first mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to get authorized in the US.
What is Moderna?
The European counterpart to the FDA.
What is the EMA (European Medicines Agency)?
This blockbuster movie was about an AIDS drug battle, starring Matthew McConaughey.
What is Dallas Buyers Club?
The first monoclonal antibody approved by the FDA in 1986.
What is muromonab-CD3 (OKT3)?
This sleep medication is often nicknamed the “Ambien walrus” because of its side effects.
What is zolpidem?
This company brought the first CAR-T therapy (Kymriah) to market.
What is Novartis?
Drugs with this special designation are developed for rare diseases.
What is orphan drug designation?
This pharmaceutical executive became infamous as the “Pharma Bro.”
Who is Martin Shkreli?
The first gene therapy approved in the US (2017).
What is Luxturna?
This anti-cancer drug is derived from the Pacific yew tree.
What is paclitaxel (Taxol)?
This biotech firm was founded in 1976 and is considered the first modern biotech company.
What is Genentech?
The document submitted to start clinical trials in humans.
What is an IND (Investigational New Drug application)?
This movie showed Gwyneth Paltrow as “Patient Zero” in a global pandemic.
What is Contagion?
The first mRNA vaccine authorized for emergency use in COVID-19.
What is Pfizer-BioNTech’s Comirnaty?
This immunotherapy checkpoint inhibitor rhymes with “hero.”
What is Keytruda (pembrolizumab)?
This gene-editing tool is sometimes called “molecular scissors.”
What is CRISPR-Cas9?
The FDA’s accelerated review pathway for serious conditions.
What is Breakthrough Therapy designation?
This biotech company’s name sounds like it belongs in a Marvel superhero movie, but it’s a real oncology company.
What is Regeneron?