Τhe accomplishments of a “syndicate” of Greek scientists who have scaled the loftiest heights of biotechnology research and innovation in New York, Boston, California and other American cities are the subject of a new documentary, “Greeks in Biotech: An Untold Story,” by Kathimerini journalist Tassoula Eptakili.
“The film recounts the story of Greek immigrants in the United States – or that of their children – who played a decisive part in the emergence of biotechnology and the surge of innovation that led to revolutionary new technologies and life-saving drugs,” Stelios Papadopoulos, cofounder and chairman of Exelixis and former chairman of Biogen, tells Kathimerini. “It is also the story of all the immigrants who escape the desperation of a life in a small village or limited career prospects in their own country to seek a better life for themselves and their children abroad,” the so-called “patriarch of biotech” in the US.
“Beyond that, it is also a story about the convergence of in-depth scientific knowledge, investment risk and perseverance, and the refusal to accept failure until that moment – rare though it may be – when a wonderful new drug reaches patients,” adds Papadopoulos, following the documentary’s first public screening. The event came at an international biotechnology conference organized in Greece by the Fondation Sante, which he co-founded alongside Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas, the Harvard professor emeritus of cell biology.
