About 20 years ago,
Harvard researcher Donald Ingber accidentally stumbled on a mold that
demonstrated a remarkable ability to prevent the growth of small blood vessels.
That fungus went on to become TNP-470, an experimental therapy in development
with Takeda that never could live up to its promise to prevent the growth of
cancerous tumors because each dose would quickly disappear from the body.
Now, though, a team of
scientists working with the legendary scientist Judah
Folkman, who died recently, discovered that by using nanotechnology they
could add two polymers to the therapy that would keep it in the system long
enough to have a therapeutic effect. And TNP-470--now called lodamin--has
demonstrated a remarkable ability to target tumor cells in a new approach that
could be effective against a broad range of cancers.
The drug is now licensed
to SynDevRx in Cambridge, MA. "When I looked at
the livers of the mice, the treated group was almost clean," said Ofra
Benny of Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical. "In the control
group you couldn't recognize the livers--they were a mass of tumors."