ARIA

Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc

A developer of cancer therapies, this Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech was founded in 1991 by physician-scientist Harvey J. Berger and made its best-known medicine, Iclusig (ponatinib), a pill for certain types of leukemia. Its name is a shortened take on Ariadne, the Greek myth figure who guided Theseus out of the labyrinth — a fitting image for a company chasing a way out of disease. Japanese pharma giant Takeda bought the company in 2017.