Stand Up for Science spotlights Herceptin in latest Traces Thursday essay

Stand Up for Science has published the third installment of its Traces Thursday Substack series, focusing on Herceptin and the decades-long path from basic antibody research to a breast cancer drug used by an estimated 2.7 million women. The series is aimed at making the case that sustained biomedical funding can turn slow scientific progress into lifesaving treatments.

Why it matters: - The Herceptin story is being used to show how basic science can take decades to become a treatment that changes patient outcomes. - The series argues that long-term funding is essential for therapies that now treat cancers, autoimmune diseases, allergies, osteoporosis and infections like Ebola. - The broader message is that biomedical breakthroughs often depend on research support long before a drug reaches patients.

What happened: - Stand Up for Science released part three of its Traces Thursday series on Substack. - The new installment is titled “Antibodies as Drugs” and centers on Herceptin, a treatment for some types of breast cancer. - The series is written by Dr. Jeremy Berg, a former director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the NIH and former editor-in-chief of Science magazine. - Berg now serves on Stand Up for Science’s Board of Advisors.

The details: - Scientists first developed lab-grown antibodies to target tumor-causing proteins in 1975. - Nearly 10 years later, researchers identified the HER2 protein as a driver of tumor growth in some breast cancers. - An oncologist developed Herceptin to target HER2. - Herceptin was approved in 1998. - Berg said Herceptin had “remarkable success” in clinical trials. - An estimated 2.7 million women have been treated with Herceptin. - Berg said the drug helped establish the now widespread use of lab-made antibodies as medicines. - Subsequent posts in the series will appear every Thursday on the Science Fight Club Substack. - Berg is available for comment.

Between the lines: - Stand Up for Science is using a historical drug-development case to make a policy argument for steady federal support of research. - The series frames scientific patience as a necessary part of innovation, not a delay to be cut short. - The example also highlights how foundational discoveries can lead to multiple medical uses beyond one disease area.

What’s next: - Stand Up for Science says more Traces Thursday posts are coming each Thursday on Science Fight Club. - The organization is continuing to use the series to argue for sustained investment in basic and biomedical research. - Berg remains available to discuss the series and its themes.

The bottom line: - The Herceptin case is being used to show that long-term research funding can produce medicines that reach millions of patients years later.