Ohio University researchers will help develop a new drug that potentially could treat various forms of cancer.
The drug, nicknamed Compound 10, affects a pathway abnormally activated in individuals with autoimmune inflammatory diseases, such as diabetes and pancreatic, breast, prostate and colon cancers, said Kelly McCall, assistant professor of Endocrinology in the College of Osteopathic Medicine.
If we can block the environmental induction of the disease
then we may be able to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes in these individuals McCall said.
OU will work with the Interthyr Corporation, which recently received a $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop the drug.
The idea that a commonality exists between certain cancers and autoimmune inflammatory diseases was novel and not widely accepted when it was first discovered, said Leonard Kohn, Interthyr CEO and retired OUCOM professor.
Realistically there is a 1 in 10 chance that Compound 10 will be successful
Kohn said. However
even if Compound 10 is not successful
a variant of it will be
because the mechanism exists. It is now a matter of working out the details
and we hope to be the first ones to work them out.
OU labs are conducting a large portion of the studies before the drug can advance to clinical trials. These studies will test the drug's safety and efficacy, McCall said.
We are in the pre-clinical study phase in the development of the drug and are working very hard to unravel its molecular mechanism
she said.
Interthyr was established in June 2000 as part of an Ohio Technology Action Fund grant to Kohn and OU. It contributed significantly to the growth of another diagnostic company, Diagnostic Hybrids Incorporated, which is now one of the fastest-growing diagnostic companies. The same is expected for research on Compound 10, Kohn said.
In three months since we had the grant
12 jobs have been created
and continuation of testing will amount to 20 jobs.
If it advances into testing
