A newly created compound, ERX-41, has been found to kill a wide range of hard-to-treat types of cancers.
The compound was studied in healthy mice by the creator's research team and showed no adverse effects. The researchers believe that the treatment could be a major breakthrough for triple-negative breast carcinoma patients.
Researchers have also found that ERX41 is effective against other forms of human cancerous tumors, including deadly types of ovarian and pancreatic cancer. It has also been shown to work with glioblastoma, which is a deadly and fatal form of brain cancer.
ERX41 binds with a protein called LIPA in the endoplasmic reticulum, stressing the cancer cell and initiating its self-destruction protocol trigger that is typical of a normal cell.
Research shows that ERX41 is a stressor on the endoplasmic reticulum that kills cancer cells, but it doesn’t kill normal cells. Its creator states that the molecule behaves intelligently because it targets only tumor-relevant factors.
Dr. Jung-Mo Ahn, creator of ERX-41, has tested it against breast-cancer cells. It is shown to kill all types of breast cancer cells, regardless of estrogen receptors. The compound also killed triple-negative breast carcinoma cells more effectively than it did ER-positive cells.
Ahn conducted his work in collaboration with Dr. Ratna Vadlamudi and Dr. TaeKyung Lee in order to study the ERX41 molecule.
Ahn's research was supported by The Welch Foundation, The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, and the National Cancer Institute.
Ahn has patents on ERX-41 and related compounds. His company plans clinical trials to start in 2023.
EtiraRx, a startup in Dallas, is currently completing preclinical studies on ERX-41.
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