Penn Oncologist Develops Melanoma Drug

Once upon a time, we set up a Google alert to let us know whenever good ol' Penn was mentioned in the news. About five minutes later, we turned said alert off because, well, most of the stuff is pret-ty lame. But an article in today's New York Times makes us (almost) wish we had reconsidered. We knew Penn had some talented people, but this is fo' real.

Dr. Keith Flaherty, a Penn oncologist, has spent the last few years leading a team of doctors in researching and creating a melanoma drug that actually appears to work. The drug targets a specific genetic mutation that typically drives the disease. The latest trial significantly shrunk tumors in 11 out of 13 patients, the unlucky two not having matched the genetic mutation for which the gene was developed. The drug still needs to go through many tests and trials before it is determined to be safe for widespread use, but it just goes to show (despite evidence to the contrary) that there are some things going on in our little University City bubble people actually get right!