Protein Wars: The Undruggable Gambit
Summary
When a team of renegade scientists cracks the code to cure childhood cancer, their race to save lives sparks a global biotech war—forcing them to confront sabotage, ethical minefields, and the terrifying power of their own invention.
In the high-stakes world of near-future biotech, Dr. Yael Mossé leads KOODAC, a scrappy multinational team racing to shatter the myth of the 'undruggable' protein and save children from the deadliest cancers. Haunted by patients lost to neuroblastoma and driven by the memory of Evan Lindberg, Yael pushes her team beyond the edge of scientific possibility to target the elusive MYCN protein with revolutionary PROTAC drugs. But every discovery comes at a price: shadowy sabotage from pharma giants, digital espionage, and the chilling specter of their cure being twisted into a designer bioweapon.
As global boardrooms and bio-labs erupt in intrigue, Gavin Lindberg—a grieving father turned relentless patient-advocate—must rally public support and demand ethical access to these life-saving therapies. Yet, as the KOODAC team is torn between scientific integrity and survival, the world watches as the line between miracle cure and catastrophic risk blurs. Will Yael and her allies outmaneuver ruthless rivals like the visionary, profit-driven Nathanael Graye, or will their breakthrough tip humanity into a new era of medical power struggles, unintended consequences, and moral reckoning? In a landscape where algorithms, ambition, and biology collide, the future of medicine—and millions of lives—hangs in the balance.
Inspired by: Protein-slayer drugs could beat some of the cruellest cancers - https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01350-2