Professor Johann de Bono is Professor of experimental Cancer Medicine and honorary consultant medical oncologist at the Institute of Cancer Research. He has made world-leading contributions to the fields of anticancer drug development and prostate cancer. He has led on the first-in-human clinical development of more than 100 new anticancer drugs, several of which are now approved cancer medicines. His key biological and clinical insights and his leadership of the clinical and translational research programme have resulted in the regulatory approval this year of abiraterone acetate by both the US FDA and European Medicines Agency for castration-resistant prostate cancer. Johann conducted world-leading research on biomarkers in clinical trials, especially using circulating tumour cells (CTCs). He received this year’s ESMO Award.