A new prostate cancer drug developed at the University of British Columbia that targets the deadliest form of the disease is now licensed by major pharmaceutical company Roche.
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For the university, it represents their largest licensing agreement to date, but for prostate cancer patients, it represents a major step in treatment advances – the new drug targets forms of the disease that have become resistant to treatment.
“We’re at a stage now that we need the right pharmaceutical partner to help to move this technology from a discovery into a finished product,” said lead researcher Paul Rennie in a release.
The drug targets advanced, metastatic prostate cancer that’s virtually incurable. Current treatments can slow the spread of the disease, but it eventually mutates and becomes resistant to treatment. This new drug targets a site in the cancer cells not prone to mutation.
UBC and the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute can expect to make upwards of $141 million from the development of this drug, plus royalties. The scientists involved in the research will share in 50 per cent of the profits.
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