A £3 million grant and the establishment of a specialized business unit that will help new treatments reach cancer patients more quickly, have underlined The University of Nottingham’s place at the forefront of cancer drug development.
The five-year grant from the US-based Aphton Corporation has been awarded to the University’s Academic Unit of Cancer Studies, allowing the continuation of research that has led to the development of the cancer drug Insegia (G17DT). This is already being used to successfully treat patients with cancer of the stomach and pancreas, known to be among the hardest forms of the disease to combat.
The unit has a long-standing relationship with Aphton and has been working on the development of Insegia (G17DT) with them for around 10 years — the very promising results from recent clinical trials centred at Nottingham, were presented in June at a prestigious cancer conference in the US. This new funding will allow the University to considerably expand this cancer research area.
Professor of Pre-Clinical Oncology Sue Watson, who heads the unit, said: "Each type of cancer is very different and we are trying to develop drugs that will enhance chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and prove less toxic to the patient thereby improving the quality of life and extending survival rates.
"The team aims to develop a greater understanding of the more solid cancers that are typically resistant to treatment, and are particularly interested in investigating gene delivery into areas of hypoxia (where the tumour can survive without oxygen and can resist chemotherapy and radiotherapy). Researchers are also looking at intracellular signalling involving a central enzyme that prevents normal cell death and is therefore responsible for the immortality of the tumour."