77 Years of Medical Innovation
From Cortisone to Curative Cell Therapies • 1948-2025
First use of cortisone in rheumatoid arthritis patient - patient walks after 3 days of treatment
Corticosteroids & Early ImmunosuppressantsHench, Kendall, and Reichstein awarded Nobel Prize for isolation and therapeutic use of cortisone
Nobel Prize RecognitionPrednisone and prednisolone introduced as improved corticosteroids with fewer side effects
Drug Development MilestoneFirst detection of auto-antibodies in diseased organs, marking clinical evidence of autoimmune disorders
Disease Understanding & DiagnosisDiscovery that the immune system causes Type 1 Diabetes, opening new research directions
Paradigm ShiftNIAID-funded researchers discover OKT3 antibody binding to CD3 receptor on T cells
Antibody Therapy FoundationProf. Marc Feldmann hypothesizes existence of cytokines, launching targeted therapy research
Theoretical FoundationShimon Sakaguchi discovers regulatory T cells (Tregs) that prevent autoimmune disease
2025 Nobel Prize DiscoveryFDA approves first anti-TNF-α biologics (infliximab/Remicade), revolutionizing RA treatment
Biologic Era BeginsBrunkow and Ramsdell discover FOXP3 gene essential for regulatory T cell development
2025 Nobel Prize DiscoveryFDA approves ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4) for cancer, demonstrating immune modulation potential
Checkpoint Era BeginsFDA approves tisagenlecleucel and axicabtagene ciloleucel for B-cell malignancies
Cell Therapy RevolutionFirst mRNA vaccines (BNT162b2, mRNA-1273) for SARS-CoV-2 demonstrate rapid development capability
mRNA Platform ValidatedFDA approves teplizumab - first medication to delay onset of Type 1 Diabetes (2-3 years)
FDA Approval - Disease PreventionMachine learning identifies conditions up to 1000% more accurately than previous methods
Precision Medicine & AIRevolutionary method for generating CAR-T cells within the body, reducing costs from hundreds of thousands to thousands
CAR-T Cell TherapyNew England Journal of Medicine publishes breakthrough CAR-T therapy achieving sustained remission in refractory systemic lupus
CAR-T Clinical SuccessBristol Myers Squibb Breakfree-1 study shows 94% of patients achieved freedom from immunosuppressive therapy with unprecedented pulmonary improvements
Clinical Trial BreakthroughSakaguchi, Brunkow, and Ramsdell awarded Nobel Prize for launching the field of peripheral tolerance
Nobel Prize RecognitionNovartis ianalumab becomes first drug to reduce disease activity in Sjögren's disease in Phase III trials
FDA BreakthroughAutolus Therapeutics doses first MS patient in groundbreaking Phase 1 trial of obe-cel CAR-T therapy
CAR-T ExpansionGenentech's Gazyva (obinutuzumab) approved for lupus nephritis, demonstrating superiority over standard care
FDA Approval