Japan - New cancer drug developed in Japan may reduce side effects

A biopharmaceutical company based in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, has developed a drug that could lessen the side effects of a conventional anticancer agent when used in combination.

Anaeropharma Science said it has already confirmed that the drug, which uses bifidobacteria, curbs side effects in animal experiments. It plans to start clinical tests as early as next month in the United States, injecting the drug into 60 patients over a 3-1/2-year period to monitor its effects on the human body.

The new drug is designed to make use of a drug-delivery system that sends anticancer agents to tumor tissues effectively. Established by Shinshu University medical professors and others, Anaeropharma Science has taken advantage of the fact that bifidobacteria proliferates in an anaerobic environment that lacks oxygen--like that commonly found in solid tumors.

The drug was created to fight stomach cancer and other types of solid tumors. It is first administered intravenously, after which bifidobacteria help the drug accumulate in the tumor.

An anticancer agent is then administered orally. The agent reacts to the drug and selectively targets tumor tissues.

Because the drug is designed to specifically target the tumor, the company expects that higher concentrations of anticancer agents can be delivered to the tumor, compared with an existing anticancer drug treatment that causes serious side effects. Anaeropharma has tied up with major pharmaceutical company Eisai Co. to develop the drug.

Anaeropharma is funded by the public-private partnership body Innovation Network Corporation, which plans to additionally invest 2.2 billion yen (US$28 million) to fund the drug's clinical tests. The company said it aims to release the drug as early as 2020 and projects annual sales of about 100 billion yen.

News Desk

The Yomiuri Shimbun

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