A SCOTS university has played a part in a major breakthrough in cancer treatment.
The University of Dundee, alongside biopharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, have discovered a molecule that destroys a cancer-causing protein.
The molecule, ACBI2, will be available to fellow researchers through opnME.com.
Free access to this discovery aims to refresh global research on treatments for cancer patients with insufficient options.
The discovery is a breakthrough in the degradation treatment of the protein SMARCA2.
This protein is a key part of gene regulation and has been found to be involved in the development of various cancers.
Dr Will Farnaby, Collaboration Leader within the University’s Centre for Targeted Protein Degradation, said: “We expect the discovery of ACBI2 to provide a vital blueprint for the future discovery of targeted protein degradation drugs and act as a critical tool to understand SMARCA2 biology.”
The findings feature in today’s issue of the Nature Communications journal.
The article reveals how degrader molecules can turn into oral medication, which is the most popular amongst patients.
This fact thus boosts the chances of human clinical trials taking place.
“This research marks an important breakthrough in the design of molecules to target and destroy cancer-causing proteins, highly selectively and as orally dosed therapies,” said Dr Farnaby.
The University of Dundee already holds world recognition in targeted protein degradation (TPD). A treatment applicable to areas from oncology to respiratory diseases.
