Dr. Ted Love is the president and CEO of Global Blood Therapeutics, which is changing the diagnosis of sickle cell disease from grim to long-term living. Dr. Love believes research and medicine are the keys to improving the lives of those diagnosed with this disease.
Why did you go into medicine?
I grew up in the Jim Crow South as a poor kid on a farm. And the person that we most admired in our community, was our family physician. We loved that guy. When I was growing up, I was good in math and science and that was the role model that I gravitated toward. I did that when I was very young and I never wavered. I continued on and pursued a career in medicine and science and it’s been a great ride for me.
What is the name of the product that GBT has developed and what is it doing for patients so far?
The name of the product is Oxbryta. I’ve enjoyed the benefit of people saying, “Oh, my life is very different. I play with my kids now I can go to work now. I’m doing things that I could never do.” And we’re now hearing about children who can play with their siblings and keep up with their parents because our drug normalizes their hemoglobin so they can carry oxygen to their tissues and function normally.
If we can put a man on the moon, we can solve sickle cell, we understand it, and GBT is going to solve sickle cell [disease]. I understand the disease and I understand how we resolve it. We’ve already made a big step toward solving it. Our product is available for patients in the United States and has just been approved for patients in Europe as well. It’s been approved for patients in the Middle East, where there’s also sickle cell. So, [we’re] making progress, [but] we’ve got more work to do. But we’re going to deliver.
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