Dale Boger, PhD, is chair of the Department of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute.
LA JOLLA, CA—September 16, 2013—Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a way to make dramatic improvements to the cancer cell-killing power of vinblastine, one of the most successful chemotherapy drugs of the past few decades. The team’s modified versions of vinblastine showed 10 to 200 times greater potency than the clinical drug. Even more significantly, these new compounds overcome the drug resistance that emerges upon treatment relapse, which renders continued or subsequent vinblastine treatment ineffective in some patients.
The TSRI researchers expect that similar modifications will boost the effectiveness of vincristine, a closely related drug that is commonly used against childhood leukemias and Hodgkin’s disease.
http://www.scripps.edu/news/press/2013/20130916boger.html
vincristine
http://www.scripps.edu/news/press/2013/20130916boger.html
vincristine
