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Dr. Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD

Dr. Michel Sadelain, Physician-Scientist and Genetic Engineer conceived a treatment that genetically alters a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer which, for the first time, produced remissions in adults with acute leukemia.

It is revolutionary. It is the first genetically engineered cell to be approved by the US FDA as a medicine. It is a living drug, a cell of the immune system that is genetically modified to attack cancer cells. It is at present approved for some blood cancers. While the price of this treatment is set by pharmaceutical corporations and the US government and covered by insurance, scientists like Dr. Sadelain are conducting research to make these therapies more broadly accessible and more affordable.

SYNOPSIS

Germinated in the 1980’s, the idea that immunity could be engineered faced incredulity if not scorn from the scientific establishment throughout the 90’s. It wasn’t until Sadelain designed a molecule later called CAR and identified its target, called CD19, that a few scientists started paying attention to his work. In the absence of interest from the pharmaceutical industry, academic medical centers had to take the matter in their own hands, becoming CAR manufacturers.
Three cancer centers contemporaneously reported dramatic results in their first clinical testing of CD19 CAR therapy, enrolling patients with intractable leukemias and lymphomas and achieving unprecedented reversal of advanced cancer. “Living Drugs” features interviews with scientists who spurred or witnessed the birth of CAR therapy as well as patient stories in the US and abroad.

TECHNICAL SHEET

Title:
LIVING DRUGS

Year of Production:
2024

Duration:
60 Minutes

Country of Production:
USA

Language:
English

PRESS RELEASE

Michel Sadelain, the Director of the Center for Cell Engineering at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, invented a treatment that genetically instructs a patient’s own immune cells to attack a molecule called CD19 and eliminate leukemia. This documentary not only follows the scientific trajectory leading up to this medical breakthrough, but a lifetime story, a vivid panorama of the journey that Dr. Sadelain and his partner Dr. Isabelle Rivière took over a thirty year long pursuit to save lives.

Germinated in the 1980’s, the idea that immunity could be engineered faced incredulity if not scorn from the scientific establishment throughout the 90’s. It wasn’t until Sadelain designed a molecule later called CAR (for chimeric antigen receptor) and identified an ideal target known as CD19, that a few scattered scientists started paying attention to this approach breaking with all conventions of cancer therapy. In the absence of interest from the pharmaceutical industry, Sadelain and Rivière had to take the matter in their own hands and become CAR manufacturers.

In the film, we connect the process of defending his research and struggling with naysaying colleagues and peers to Dr. Sadelain’s family roots and his own upbringing. He describes that his parents emigrated and created a family life far from relatives without ever completely fitting in a new world. “Never belonging to a group, ” says Dr. Sadelain, “helped in science, to resist the pressure of conformity. I think this family history has contributed to building up resilience and the ultimate result.” The treatment developed by Sadelain and Rivière makes use of the patients’ own T cells, a type of white blood cell that normally protects us from viruses and occasionally cancer. The T cells are extracted from the patient’s blood and are then genetically engineered with a disabled virus serving as a vector to transport the synthetic gene producing the CAR. The T cells are now instructed to recognize and kill any cell that displays CD19 on its surface.

VIDEO TRAILER
Embedded Video
TESTIMONIALS
Living Drugs is a moving story about the development of CAR-T therapy, a breakthrough that has transformed cancer treatment and touched countless lives. It also features the journey of a patient treated using Miltenyi technology, who is now celebrating three years cancer-free; a powerful reminder of how innovative ideas can lead to groundbreaking new therapies. This documentary is a source of inspiration, as we continue pushing boundaries in the fight against cancer.
Leonard Pulig  |  President, Miltenyi Biotec North America
*****

I was able to watch the film and thought it was so beautifully done, compelling, and inspiring. I appreciate the international components of the project.

Liz Levenson
Cactus Tree Entertainment

*****

OVERALL TAKEAWAYS
• INSPIRING! INSPIRING! INSPIRING!
• Congrats on creating a powerful documentary on a topic that speaks to the direct
experience and fears of huge populations.
• And this is a film that can empower the viewer… which is important and unique.

Peter Hamilon, Peter Hamilton Consultants
*****
 I saw your movie. Wow they are truly heroic geniuses!
Megan Dobkin

*****

That was fantastic!
Cliff Ramsdell, Ph.D.
*****

I  was very impressed. I found the film extremely informative, engaging and also very emotional.

Billy Hurman, Billy Human Consultancy LTD

PRODUCTION TEAM

V & Co - Film Production Company

Victorina Petrossiants

Executive Producer

Victorina Petrossiants is based in New York and has an extensive background as an art critic and curator, with significant experience in international exhibitions. In 2012, she founded VIKO TV, a production company that has created over 150 documentaries, TV series, and programs dedicated to art and culture. In 2019, Victorina was involved in the major project Pinacoteca di Brera Plus in Milan, which contributed to promoting the museum's rich collection of art . In 2020, she co-founded the film production company V&Co in New York. Victorina Petrossiants was an Executive producer of the documentary Song Searcher , and she is an Executive producer and Director of the groundbreaking documentary Living Drugs, which focuses on innovative cancer treatments.

ANDREW VIAZIGIN

Director

Andrew Viazigin was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and began his directing career in 2010. He has worked as an editing director for numerous television programs, documentaries, and feature films, many of which have received international recognition and awards. Andrew has authored and directed several dozen documentaries, including international productions across various genres and directions, particularly films for the online platform Brera Plus Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan. He believes that cinema reflects the author's interpretation of events and characters, and therefore, it is a significant responsibility because the audience experiences the story through the creator's vision.

Elvira Mogilevsky

ELVIRA MOGILEVSKY

Scriptwriter, Editor

Elvira Mogikevsky is a resident of Israel and Latvia. She defended her Ph.D. thesis in 2008 and worked as a correspondent and editor-in-chief before focusing on producing television documentaries for major TV stations. Over the years, she has produced more than a hundred documentaries and television programs. In her documentary practice, she considers a long chain of circumstances that makes up a person's life, understands the motivation of his actions and chooses the essential. And so, patch to patch creates a multi-colored, complex canvas in which the hero and his fate are manifested.

Natalie Azarov

NATALIE AZAROV

Producer

Natalie Azarov has been based in New York, with over 25 years of experience in the event planning industry. In October 2019, she joined forces with Victorina Petrossiants as a line producer for the documentary Song Searcher. In 2020, Natalie became Vice President of V&Co, a New York-based film production company. That same year, she took on the role of producer for the documentary Living Drugs, a project with the potential to impact countless lives. Her mission is to share this groundbreaking story with the world and inspire audiences everywhere.

JENNIFFER CLAROSCURA

Integrated Designer

Jenniffer Claroscura was born in Peru and is an Integrated Designer residing in New York. She has experience managing and designing online, digital, and print materials. Jenniffer has worked directly with marketing teams to produce design solutions and launch social media campaigns. She also has a background in photography and video editing. Jenniffer has helped many clients succeed in the digital culture, taking an idea and turning it into great digital work.

Filmmakers about the movie

Victorina Petrossiants, Executive producer of the V&Co production company, first met Michel Sadelain and Isabelle Riviere at a piano concert at MSKCC. She was struck by the story of their long journey, by their perseverance and faith in their mission to save humanity from one of its main challenges: cancer. Victorina was convinced that the story of their discoveries had to be shared with the world, and quickly proposed to create a film about these amazing people and their research.
“We started work in 2017 and are now proud to have produced a documentary film. We are grateful to Michel and Isabelle for the many opportunities they have offered us over the years to accompany them in their private and public lives to demonstrate the breadth of their process, which is of course rooted in science but also fundamentally creative.
We have joined them and recorded their perspectives in their laboratories and at parties, at presentations of their many prestigious awards, in museums and concerts where we shared in their inspiration from many different sources. Echoing the rhythms of their scientific process, our film has also changed and adapted to new conditions and developments. And though we could continue to dive even deeper, we realized the need to complete this film and fulfill Victorina's original desire to present Michel and Isabelle's groundbreaking work to the world. ”

Victorina Petrossiants - Executive producer

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