A Personal Battle with Cancer
In a cruel twist of fate, Zanganeh—who had dedicated much of her career to cancer research—was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer in 2019. The news was devastating, but she approached her illness with the same tenacity she brought to boardrooms and laboratories. “I was really bad,” she admitted in her Forbes interview, recalling the grueling months of chemotherapy, radiation, and uncertainty.
While Zanganeh underwent treatment, Duggan made another bold move. He invested $63 million to acquire a 60% stake in Summit Therapeutics, a relatively small biotech firm that had promising ideas but limited funding. Zanganeh joined Summit in July 2022, after her recovery, becoming co-CEO alongside Duggan.
A Breakthrough from the East
Soon after joining Summit, Zanganeh and Duggan discovered a new anti-cancer drug called ivoncimab, developed by the Chinese biotech company Akeso. The drug offered a dual mechanism of action: it enhanced the immune system’s response to tumors while also cutting off the blood supply that allowed tumors to grow.
Convinced of its potential, Summit Therapeutics struck one of the most ambitious licensing deals in biotech history: $500 million upfront, with up to $4.5 billion in potential milestone payments. The scale of the deal underscored the company’s faith in the drug—and in Zanganeh’s leadership.
Early results from clinical trials have been astonishing. Patients treated with ivoncimab experienced an average of 11.1 months without cancer progression—nearly double the 5.8 months reported by patients using Keytruda, the world’s leading cancer drug.