A drug developed at ASU and licensed by a German drug development company Monday has been shown to effectively fight cancer.
Bryostatin-1, developed at the ASU Cancer Research Institute, was derived from a marine animal, Bryozoan, and can affect cancer cell activity.
The licensing is a positive step for the CRI, said Jean Schmidt, associate director of the CRI.
"This is an opportunity for it to actually treat cancer in patients," she said.
The drug is in Phase II of human clinical trials and has shown good results, according to GPC Biotech, the firm that licensed the drug.
Jonathan Fink, the vice provost of research, said he has "cautious optimism" about the early process.
"It has taken a long time to get anyone interested in these compounds," he said. "There are a lot of hurdles that have to be overcome."
Fink said it could still take years until the drug can be made available to patients.
"The ultimate goal is to get these things commercialized and out to the public," he said.
GPC Biotech plans to use it in combination with other anti-cancer drugs to attack esophageal cancer, said Cherry Herald, associate director of the CRI.
"This is an organic compound, and it has a unique molecule that is isolated out of a natural resource," she said. "We believe that this will be a very useful drug."
When the drug is combined with other drugs it enhances the actions of the other drugs, and helps to fight tumors, Herald said.
Bryostatin-1 is a pure substance made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, Herald said.
To fight cancer, Bryostatin-1 stimulates white blood cells, which causes the cells to secrete cancer-fighting chemicals, Schmidt said.
"We know that it has some good effects in clinical studies," she said.
Reach Jennifer Voges at jennyvoges@hotmail.com.