Brian Druker

Brian Druker pioneered the clinical development of imatinib (Gleevec), the first molecularly targeted kinase inhibitor to achieve cure-level outcomes in cancer, transforming chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) from a terminal disease to one with near-normal life expectancy for most patients. His foundational work establishing BCR-ABL as a driver of CML and conducting the first-in-human trials of imatinib in the late 1990s opened the era of precision oncology. He received the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award and the Japan Prize, and his work has influenced every targeted therapy developed since.