Venture capitalists and major pharmaceutical companies have been jostling to cash in on Dr. Patrick Gunning’s discovery ever since he made the September 2013 cover of the American Chemical Society Journal. The University of Toronto researcher developed a drug that cures cancer in mice by disabling a cancer-promoting protein called STAT3. It has also killed cancerous cells in tumours extracted from humans. The research was supported through the Stem Cell Network’s Drug Discovery Program, which uses a Dragon’s Den-type process to support discoveries with the best chance of clinical success, but cut loose those that fail to hit certain milestones.