Since its founding, the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge has produced an astonishing 16 Nobel laureates. Sir Gregory P. Winter, a Nobel laureate in chemistry and a product of this singular institution, recently explained the secret behind this profound success.
"You got a culture of people who were working very hard, they took science very seriously, they focused on really important problems — and it kind of fed through, disseminated," Winter told Storm Media in an exclusive interview.
Winter's scientific career has been firmly anchored at the LMB, where he progressed from doctoral student to postdoctoral researcher, department head, and ultimately deputy director. Among his most vivid memories is watching Fred Sanger, a two-time Nobel laureate, leave the laboratory near midnight, only to find him already back at the bench before dawn. That level of absolute devotion to research, Winter said, is the true wellspring of great scientific achievement.
Winter recently visited Taiwan at the invitation of the Taiwan Bridge Program, a joint initiative led by Academia Sinica. During his visit, he delivered a lecture detailing the phage display technology that earned him the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
From Scientist To Entrepreneur
Winter is not only a distinguished scientist but also a serial entrepreneur, driven not by profit but by the imperative to save lives. The companies he founded have developed drugs whose cumulative global sales exceed $250 billion.
His portfolio is led by the biologic Humira, which ultimately became the world's best-selling drug. Han-Chung Wu (吳漢忠), a distinguished research fellow at Academia Sinica, noted that Winter has played a pivotal role in seamlessly translating basic science into real-world medical impact.
Now 75, Winter recently visited Taiwan for the first time. Soft-spoken and precise, he spoke at length about his passion for research, the gravitational pull of the LMB, and the complex factors behind Humira's massive commercial success.
An Early Fascination With Biology
Winter was born in Leicester, England, but spent his early years in Ghana after his father, a French professor, relocated the family. Surrounded by exotic wildlife, a seven-year-old Winter decided to become a marine biologist after meeting a scientist who brought an enormous tortoise to his school.
Returning to England for secondary school, Winter discovered chemistry around the age of 13. The hands-on experiments, full of bubbling reactions, captivated him immediately and cemented his lifelong interest in the chemical sciences.
Two books read during his teenage years proved decisive in shaping his future career path. James Watson's "The Double Helix" and Melvin Calvin's "Chemical Evolution" inspired him to seriously pursue chemical biology to understand the origins of life.
The Culture Of The LMB
The LMB has always been remarkable for the sheer density of its intellectual achievement. In 1962 alone, the year the laboratory was formally established, four of its scientists received Nobel Prizes.
Winter attributed this extraordinary record to the institution's founding figures, Max Perutz and Fred Sanger, who drew other exceptional scientists to the laboratory. They created an intensely competitive culture where expectations were incredibly high, and scientists routinely worked through holidays like Christmas Eve.
Winter acknowledged that this intense environment directly shaped his own professional habits. Averaging about 12 hours a day in the laboratory, including weekends, he described the environment as featuring a strict, Japanese-style work ethic.
At the LMB, Winter was directly influenced by several legendary mentors. His doctoral supervisor, Brian Hartley, sparked a deep interest in proteins, while collaborator Alan Fersht taught him how to use enzyme kinetics. Cesar Milstein, another Nobel laureate, ultimately pointed him toward his groundbreaking antibody research.
The Science Behind Humira
In the late 1980s, Winter developed a revolutionary method for rapidly selecting human antibodies from vast genetic libraries. This technique laid the critical scientific foundation for Humira, a drug targeting an inflammatory protein implicated in rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease.
Humira's massive success was driven by its practical delivery mechanism, allowing patients to easily self-administer the drug via subcutaneous injection. Furthermore, the drug's manufacturer, AbbVie, executed a brilliant commercial strategy, securing multiple approvals and building a dense patent portfolio.
The combination of exceptional scientific quality, clear clinical utility, and aggressive commercial strategy explains why Humira became a global blockbuster. Since its launch, the drug has accumulated more than $250 billion in global sales.
A Transformative Hardship
The year 1984 proved pivotal for Winter after he was violently attacked by a disturbed individual while cycling to work. The assault left his right arm nearly paralyzed, confining him to a computer screen and preventing him from working at a laboratory bench for a long period.
Absorbed in studying complex protein structures on his screen to distract from severe nerve pain, Winter had a transformative realization. He discovered a theoretical way to transplant binding loops from a mouse antibody into a human one, effectively creating a humanized antibody.
Working closely with a technician, he successfully built the antibody, versions of which have since become highly successful commercial drugs. Winter views the painful episode philosophically, noting that overcoming unexpected technical difficulties is simply part of the scientific process.
The Push For Commercialization
When the first humanized antibody was ready for testing, a terminally ill woman with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma volunteered as the first patient. The experimental treatment successfully extended her life long enough to be at her dying husband's bedside, but when the cancer returned, the laboratory lacked sufficient antibody to continue her treatment.
Her subsequent death deeply shook Winter, convincing him that scientific invention must be actively partnered with private industry to reach patients at scale. When the MRC attempted to grant an exclusive license for his patented technology to a single company, Winter fiercely objected.
He successfully advocated for nonexclusive licensing, arguing that open market competition would ultimately serve patients better and maximize public benefit. Winter subsequently founded a series of highly successful biotechnology companies, including Cambridge Antibody Technology, Domantis, and Bicycle Therapeutics.
Translating complex science into commercial application requires enormous effort and absolute commitment. Winter stressed that scientists must fully commit to problems that truly matter and work incredibly hard to stay ahead of fierce global competition.
Confronting Global Challenges
When asked about the most pressing global challenge, Winter unequivocally pointed to climate change. He believes scientists and engineers can make massive contributions by developing better energy storage batteries, capturing carbon dioxide, or even intercepting solar radiation.
Regarding future pandemic preparedness, Winter emphasized the critical need to rapidly develop and scale up vaccine production. He also highlighted the often-overlooked challenge of developing small-molecule drugs that can effectively inhibit viral replication.
For young scientists starting their careers, Winter offered two specific pieces of advice. First, focus on genuinely important problems and execute the experiments yourself, paying attention to microscopic details while keeping sight of the big picture.
Second, learn to communicate complex research with extreme precision and economy. Whether presenting to the scientific community or business investors, Winter stressed the importance of explaining work clearly and only highlighting the most critical information on presentation slides. （Related： Enterprises Pivot To Open Models And Specialist Agents For Secure AI Deployment ｜ Latest ）
