In 1981, Stanford oncologist Ronald Levy reported the first successful use of monoclonal antibodies, which are laboratory-created molecules engineered to attach to specific defects in cancer cells.

The method worked, and some patients treated with the antibodies were even cured. Although Levy and his colleagues started a company, IDEC Pharmaceuticals, in 1985 to market the treatment, generating a unique batch of antibodies for each lymphoma patient proved too cumbersome.