Transcript
[Music plays and an image appears of a Prime Minister’s Prize, for Innovation medallion above text: Professor Andrew F Wilks, FAA FTSE FAHMS, Dr Christoher Burns FRACI FRSC]
[Images move through to show Andrew Wilks filling a tube from a pipette, and then a close view of the pipette injecting into the tube]
Andrew Wilks: Creativity is the fundamental feedstock to the way that we design our medicines.
[Image changes to show Chris Burn’s finger pointing at a diagram of a molecule on a whiteboard, and then camera pans out to show Chris talking]
Chris Burns: Drug invention is creative in terms of how do I put the molecule together? How do I make that in the lab?
[Image changes to show lab equipment in the foreground and people talking in the background, and then image changes to show gloved hands swirling a clear liquid in a large vial]
There's creation at every stage through the invention process.
[Image changes to show Chris listening awhile Andrew is talking to the camera, and then Andrew listening while Chris is talking to the camera, and text appears: Professor Andrew F Wilks, Dr Christopher Burns]
Andrew Wilks: My name is Andrew Wilks.
Chris Burns: And my name is Chris Burns. And together we invented the drug Momelotinib for the treatment of myelofibrosis.
[Images move though to show Andrew nodding, Chris pointing at a whiteboard, and then various views of Andrew talking with Chris about an image of an enzyme on the computer screen]
Andrew Wilks: I discovered a class of enzymes called the JAK family of kinases. There are four JAK enzymes. They were very important in how normal blood cells and cancerous cells formed.
[Images move though to show various views of Andrew talking to the camera, and then various views of Andrew talking with Chris about the image on the computer screen]
Myelofibrosis is a bone marrow cancer that is caused by a mutation in JAK2.
[Image changes to show Chris talking to the camera]
Mutated JAK2 is overactive and that too much signalling is what causes the cancer.
[Images move through to show Andrew talking with Chris about the image on the computer screen, Andrew talking, and then Chris talking to the camera]
Chris Burns: When we started out on this journey, most myelofibrosis patients would succumb to the disease in about six years.
[Image changes to show Andrew talking while pointing to the computer screen, and then the image changes to show a close view of Chris and Andrew talking together]
If they didn't, they were very likely to convert to a leukaemia.
[Images move through to show Andrew and Chris talking about the image on the computer, a medium view of Andrew talking to the camera, and a close view of Andrew talking to the camera]
Andrew Wilks: Momelotinib is a small molecule and you essentially switch off that cancerous signal.
[Images move through to show a wide view of Chris talking to the camera, a close view of Chris talking to the camera, a female in a lab coat using a clipboard, and then hands writing in a diary]
Chris Burns: When we eventually tested Momelotinib in patients with myelofibrosis, we started getting data back very quickly.
[Image changes to show a very close view of a doctor’s hands holding a clipboard while a patient’s hands move as she talks, and then the image changes to show Chris talking to the camera]
There was a clear readout that the drug was actually working and improving people's lives.
[Images move through to show various views of lab equipment, Chris talking to the camera, a spinning vial machine, and then a doctor’s hands using a pen to take notes]
Once we started getting the positive clinical data from the trials, we got a lot of interest from pharmaceutical companies around the world in licensing this compound and developing it further.
[Images move through to show Chris and Andrew working in a lab together, a close view of Andrew’s face showing concentration as he looks down, and then Andrew talking]
The ultimate success of Momelotinib proves that you need to work collaboratively.
[Images move through to show Andrew talking to the camera, Chris talking with a colleague, gloved hands holding a vial of clear liquid, and then the colleague looking at the vial closely]
Andrew Wilks: It's very much a team sport and there are people with extraordinary domain expertise. It really does take a village. It's a great joy and a great privilege to have been part of that.
[Images move through to show Andrew talking to the camera, various views of Chris and Andrew walking and talking together, Chris and Andrew smiling at each other, and then Chris smiling]
The Prime Minister's Prize for Innovation is absolutely the icing on the cake. This is such a wonderful recognition of myself and Chris, and our team's been able to deliver.
[Images move through to show hands pipetting fluid into a tube, Andrew and Chris laughing together in a lab, and then Chris talking to the camera]
Chris Burns: Something that we did here in a lab in Melbourne has now been turned into a pill that people take and actually improves their life.
[Image changes to show Andrew and Chris folding their arms and smiling at the camera]
That's that's a huge reward personally and for everyone involved in the development.
[Music plays and the image changes to show the Prime Minister’s Prize, for Innovation medallion, with the Australian Government Coat of Arms in the bottom right corner, and text appears: 2024 Prime Minister’s Prize, for Innovation, Celebrating 25 years]
