Born in South Haven, Michigan in 1897, he used a $5,000 loan from his father to create a global business based on a fleet of supertankers.

[6] Ludwig believed that tackling the problem of cancer required the best minds operating in the most favorable conditions with the best resources to accomplish the task.

[6] After Ludwig's death, his US-based assets were also put into a trust to support additional cancer research efforts.

[7] Thierry Boon, former director of the organization's Brussels branch, made foundational contributions to the field of cancer immunotherapy.

[14] Ludwig researchers in Melbourne discovered and cloned[15] the granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) through a collaboration with Australian immunologist Donald Metcalf.

The factor is essential to the maturation of key white blood cells, and has been used extensively over the past few decades to help rebuild the immune system of patients undergoing chemotherapy.

The Oncology Drug Advisory Committee of the US FDA recently recommended approval for T-VEC, a viral therapy for melanoma manufactured by Amgen that incorporates the gene for GM-CSF to support anti-cancer immune responses.

[16] Ludwig researchers in São Paulo played a role in establishing that human papillomavirus (HPV) infection causes cervical cancer.

They explored the underlying immunology of the response and played a role in evaluating the first such drug in clinical trials for the treatment of advanced melanoma.

[20] This research resulted in the first Ludwig spin-off, Piramed Ltd., a biotech that sought to create cancer medicines based on this discovery.