'Old' drug offers new hope in cancer fight

SCOTTISH scientists have discovered that a drug, originally developed to treat schizophrenia, could offer fresh hope in the fight against cancer.

The breakthrough has been made by researchers at Dundee University who have proved that the drug, rimcazole, has the ability to destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy tissue alone.

The researchers belive that the "smart" drug could provide an important new treatment for a range of cancers. And, because the drug has already been used in trials on humans, rimcazole could be on the market within just four years.

It was revealed yesterday that the university has reached an agreement to grant an exclusive worldwide licence to a major drug development company, Modern Biosciences, to manage the development programme in what could prove a lucrative money-spinning deal for the university.

The development of rimcazole for the treatment of cancer has been made possible through the groundbreaking research of Dr Barbara Spruce and her team at the university. Dr Spruce's work has focussed on the so-called "sigma-1 receptor", which has been the subject of considerable pharmaceutical research in the field of psychiatric and neurological disorders.

Dr Spruce said: "We are very excited about the potential of this drug. Certainly the anti- tumour studies so far in the laboratory look very promising indeed and the next step is to test that in humans.

"The drug is showing promise in a broad range of cancer types, most possibly all cancer types. But we suspect it will be more effective in some groups of patients and there will almost certainly be a selection process to select the best patients to treat."

The drug was originally developed in the 1980s as a treatment for schizophrenia but was never licensed as more effective medication was developed.

Dr Spruce explained: "Through our work we discovered that the target molecule that rimcazole binds to can also protect cells from the natural cell suicide process called apoptosis. It restores this natural self-destruct mechanism in cancer cells, but it doesn't do so in normal cells."

The drug also had several features that made it particularly promising for the treatment of cancer. It can be taken orally, it prevents the growth of blood vessels within tumours and has very few toxic side effects.

She said the fact that she and her team had discovered a new use for an "old" drug meant that the development of the drug could be fast-tracked. Clinical trials are expected to begin within a year and the drug could be on the market within four years.

Dr Sam Williams, chief executive of Modern Biosciences, said: "We are very excited to be in a position to start the clinical development of rimcazole. It has great promise as a selective cancer agent."