Dr. Tom Gadek received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder and then earned his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of California Berkeley. Gadek has had a lifelong interest in developing small molecule antagonists of protein-protein interactions. He joined Genentech in 1988 and over the next 15 years, he contributed to the discovery and development of numerous small molecule “equivalents” to monoclonal antibodies. In 2006, Gadek founded SARcode where he initiated studies to elucidate the molecular mechanism of dry eye syndrome and developed Lifitegrast as a treatment for dry eye syndrome.
Tom Gadek goes through all of the steps in financing, developing, testing and producing Lifitegrast, a drug for treating dry eye syndrome. (Talk recorded in June 2016)