The Cancer Killers: A story where the stakes are life and death

November 3rd, 2025

MacDiarmid and Brahmbhatt – who together made a groundbreaking discovery that could revolutionise cancer treatment – have proven themselves equally determined and resilient over a 20-year roller-coaster journey to get their “magic bullet” to patients who need it.

Called EnGeneIC Dream Vector (EDV), it is described as a microscopic Trojan horse that slips inside cancer cells and destroys them from within. Unlike chemotherapy, it spares healthy cells entirely, and doesn’t have dangerous side-effects.

The Cancer Killers, filmed by production company Rymer Childs over 15 years, follows MacDiarmid and Brahmbhatt from labs and clinics to boardrooms in Australia and the US, offering an illuminating behind-the-scenes look at the struggle of bringing a revolutionary scientific discovery to market.

“The series captures not just the science, but the deeply human story – the hope, sacrifice and determination to bring new life-saving treatments to those who need them most,” says Bernadine Lim, senior SBS commissioning editor for documentaries.

The two Sydney-based molecular biologists were actually working on animal vaccines for the CSIRO in the 1990s when a colleague’s shock diagnosis of terminal cancer changed the course of their research and led to their breakthrough.