Scientists from Mumbai's Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), the Aghaarkar Research Institute (ARI) in Pune, and IIT Hyderabad have discovered an alternative drug molecule that indicates high anti-tumor potential on cancer cells.
Due to the limited effectiveness of platinum medications, which are now the primary option of treatment for many types of cancer, and the rapid development of patient resistance, this development is seen to be significant.
The new therapeutic agent, "Ruthenium-Ferrocene Bimetallic," according to Malay Patra, Principal Investigator, Medicinal Chemistry and Cell Biology Laboratory at the TIFR's Department of chemical sciences, has the potential to slow primary tumor growth through antiproliferation (use for inhibiting cell growth) and slow metastasis (growth) through antiangiogenesis, or "killing two birds with one stone." The novel medicine prevents the growth of new blood vessels and can be used to treat cancer instances that are unresponsive to platinum-based chemotherapy.
The studies have been conducted on zebrafish and cellular models, and the team is currently preparing to test the toxicity and anti-cancer effects of the new-age drugs on mammals.
