Development Of Novel And Selective Anticancer Drugs Derived From Cysteine.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$264,250.00
Summary
In the next few years cancer is projected to become the leading cause of death in industrialised countries. Cancer chemotherapy currently relies on destruction of tumours by toxic drugs that indiscriminately kill all cell types, resulting in side effects that limit treatment. In the 21st century new cancer drugs will more effectively destroy malignant tumour cells without damaging normal cells. The R and D herein will value-add to our discovery of a new class of potent and orally active anti-tum ....In the next few years cancer is projected to become the leading cause of death in industrialised countries. Cancer chemotherapy currently relies on destruction of tumours by toxic drugs that indiscriminately kill all cell types, resulting in side effects that limit treatment. In the 21st century new cancer drugs will more effectively destroy malignant tumour cells without damaging normal cells. The R and D herein will value-add to our discovery of a new class of potent and orally active anti-tumour drugs that possess unusually high selectivity in acting on cancer cells without killing normal human cells. Our current proof of concept will be turned into a drug development candidate that will improve our negotiating position with commercial partners.Read moreRead less
Se015: A Developmental Drug For The Treatment Of Brain Tumours
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$304,206.00
Summary
Primary malignant brain tumors are amongst the most lethal forms of human cancers with median survival for these patients being only around 1 year. In spite of the advent of new targeted therapies for some cancers the prognosis for these patients remains dismal. Worldwide, more than 95% of all people who contract the disease will die of it. This is because there are no effective therapies and all current treatments are only palliative, seeking to lesson the distressing suffering associated with ....Primary malignant brain tumors are amongst the most lethal forms of human cancers with median survival for these patients being only around 1 year. In spite of the advent of new targeted therapies for some cancers the prognosis for these patients remains dismal. Worldwide, more than 95% of all people who contract the disease will die of it. This is because there are no effective therapies and all current treatments are only palliative, seeking to lesson the distressing suffering associated with disease progression. Nearly all therapies that have shown some efficacy in treating cancer, such as chemotherapy and radiation have a mode of action whereby they attempt to kill cancer cells by inflicting enough damage to the cancer cells that they induce them to commit cell suicide, a process called apoptosis. Unfortunately, cancer cells can become resistant to these therapies by activating the cells' own signaling pathways that normally block apoptosis. One of the key pathways that has been implicated in resistance to apoptosis in human cancers is the PI3K-Akt pathway. This pathway is overactivated in many advanced human tumors, particularly in glioblastoma. We have discovered a compound, Se015, which can effecitively block this pathway in brain cancer cells and is able to dramatically improve the effectiveness of both chemotherapy and radiation in killing these cells. We have confirmed the efectiveness of Se015 in preliminary animal models of brain cancer, where we have shown that Se015 demonstrated no noticeable toxicity and was active when taken orally. We now need to explore further the molecular mode of action of Se015, as well as complete our animal studies with the eventual aim of initiating a small trial of Se015 in glioblastoma patients in the forseeable future.Read moreRead less
Toxicological And Pre-clinical Assessment Of The Anti-cancer Compound Bp4eT
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$198,900.00
Summary
Cancer cells have a high iron requirement for DNA synthesis and many clinical trials showed Fe chelators are effective anti-cancer drugs. Their potential to act as anti-tumour agents has been confirmed by the entrance of Triapine into widespread NCI clinical trials. In this NHMRC Development Grant, we will perform toxicological studies to enable clinical trials of our most promising novel iron chelator to commence.
Improved Formulations Of Anti-cancer Agents 5-Fluorouracil And Oxaliplatin Using Excipient Technology
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$202,973.00
Summary
Chemotherapy plays a key role in cancer treatment, however, problems persist with severe adverse toxic effects. Combinations of anti-cancer agents give better results, but these agents still have major negative effects, for example, on veins and peripheral nerves and they must be given separately. We have developed a novel, all-in-one formulation of Oxaliplatin with 5-Fluorouracil and Leucovorin, with the potential for fewer toxic effects and improved patient care.