"We are trying to create a cease-fire in the immune system, " says University of Oxford immunologist Herman Waldmann, who invented the Tolerx drug.

FORBES: Delaying Diabetes

Those memories were stirred by the fact that Waldmann, now 43, actually rode on Sunday in place of the injured Russian rider Vladimir Leonov.

BBC: Matt Roberts' MotoGP column

Both Waldmann and ucsf diabetes center director Jeffrey Bluestone, who invented the MacroGenics drug, were originally hoping their idea would yield safer organ transplant drugs.

FORBES: Magazine Article

When Waldmann started touting this idea in 1993 as a strategy for treating various autoimmune disorders, the idea was so fringy that it took him two years to get his first big study published.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Even fresher in the memory lies Ralf Waldmann's 250cc victory in torrential conditions in 2000, when he made up over a minute in the final five laps to beat Olivier Jacque by 0.3 seconds.

BBC: Matt Roberts' MotoGP column

Dr Waldmann said that although a lot of money is ploughed into intensive care, less consideration is given to the emotional and psychological legacy patients can suffer after their experiences and that this needs to be addressed.

BBC: NEWS | Health | 'What intensive care meant to me'