Fortune | April 3, 2019: Some types of innovation are fueled by curiosity. Others stem from the profit motive. (In many cases, it’s a bit of both). For Rakuten CEO Mickey Mikitani, the quest for groundbreaking science was born of heartbreak.
Mikitani’s father’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis (and eventual death) spurred the serial entrepreneur to form a biotechnology outfit centered on “photoimmunotherapy.” In simpler terms, Rakuten Aspyrian is attempting to treat cancer with literal light.
