David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

drugs were all poisons, Frei argued. But
they were poisonous in different ways,
which meant that if you were careful
with the dosages—and if you were
aggressive enough in the way you treated
the side effects—the children could be
kept alive. Zubrod gave in. “It was
crazy,” Freireich said. “But smart and
correct. I thought about it and I knew it
would work. It was like the platelets. It
had to work!”
The trial was called the VAMP
regimen. Some of the clinical associates
—the junior doctors assisting on the
ward—refused to take part. They thought
Freireich was insane. “I had to do it all
myself,” Freireich said. “I had to order