The origin story of rapamycin: systemic bias in biomedical research and cold war politics

Abstract

METEI (Medical Expedition to Easter Island) was a Canadian-led expedition to Easter Island in 1964 that led to the discovery of rapamycin, launching a billion-dollar drug industry and major field of biomedical research. Stanley’s Dream, by medical historian Jacalyn Duffin, provides remarkable details about METEI and raises important and timely questions about systemic bias in biomedical studies, the relationship between science and geopolitics, as well as obligations of pharmaceutical companies to indigenous communities. As such, this book is a must-read for those interested in the intersection of science and society as well as anyone who has used rapamycin, or one of many derivatives, in their laboratory or clinic.

Topics & Concepts