Biotechnology is now the science that defines the 21st century. In Pursuit of Unicorns is the story of how it got here — told by someone who was in the room.

 

Beginning in 1974, Dr. Tim Harris traces the technologies that launched companies and produced new medicines, from the pioneering days of gene cloning and monoclonal antibodies to today's advances in cell therapy, gene editing, and personalized medicine.

 

The book is also a memoir. Dr. Harris was involved, one way or another, with many of the companies and technologies he describes, and he writes with the candor of a participant rather than the distance of an observer. His account is rich in detail about the struggles and triumphs that played out in laboratories and boardrooms, and about the colorful personalities who shaped them.

 

One of his stated aims is preservation: to make sure the people who built these technologies and companies are not forgotten. Blending science, business, and ethics, he reflects on the complexities of rapid technological progress and the responsibilities of the scientists driving it.

 

This updated edition includes a new chapter.