Inside Duke Medicine
Media Spotlight: News & Observer features Duke research, Hollywood movie
posted January 22nd, 2010
This film highlights groundbreaking research at Duke
The News & Observer's Sarah Avery writes:
Only 5 years old, Clay Bowden isn't aware of the drama surrounding the drug that keeps him alive.
But he can watch the movie, which is released today.
"Extraordinary Measures," starring Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser, tells a fictionalized account of how a real drug came to market in 2006 and saved hundreds of youngsters, including Bowden, afflicted with the rare metabolic disorder Pompe disease.
And though movie trailers boast that the film is inspired by a true story - Fraser's character, John Crowley, is real - the drug development occurred at Duke University by scientists who look and behave nothing like the crotchety loner Ford plays.
"I'm incredibly proud of what we've done," said Dr. Priya Kishnani, a pediatric geneticist who helped lead clinical trials at Duke that resulted in the drug's regulatory approval.
Continue reading the story.