Home
Search transcripts:    Advanced Search
Notable New     Yorkers
Select     Notable New Yorker

Mary LaskerMary Lasker
Photo Gallery
Transcript

Part:         Session:         Page of 999

Q:

That was quite an offer, wasn't it?

Lasker:

Wasn't it? Yes. But then listen to what they did: They purified it and they have cloned it through Genentech with genetic technology. Now, instead of having what we imagined were going to be one pure entity leukocyte interferon and another one fibroblast interferon and another one immune interferon, each of which would do a little something different, in leukocyte interferon alone there are at least twelve different sub-species; so that each species may do a little something different for one kind of tumor as compared with another kind.

Q:

How complicated!

Lasker:

And it may also do something a little different for one cancer virus instead of anther virus. But they are able to splice these. They would be able to splice these different sub-species together to make the best possible kind of substance.

Now, this is going to take some time.

Q:

Of course it is.

Lasker:

It's another big long road, you see. Now, we know that fibroblast... (pause)

It shows that what we thought was something relatively simple





© 2006 Columbia University Libraries | Oral History Research Office | Rights and Permissions | Help