Sagopilone shows promise in combating tumors
A vice-like grip on the cytoskeleton
Cancer researcher Guido Piechowiak visually examines crystals in Bayer Schering Pharma’s research laboratory in Berlin, where Bayer’s active substance sagopilone was developed primarily by (from left) Dr. Jens Hoffmann, Dr. Ulrich Klar, Dr. Bernd Buchmann, Professor Werner Skuballa, Dr. Wolfgang Schwede and Dr. Johannes Platzek. The scientists are standing in front of a projected image of the active substance molecule and its target.
Cancer cells sometimes defend themselves against medication by transporting active ingredients back out of the cell through built-in pumps. Even taxanes, some of the most effective cancer drugs, are occasionally expelled in this manner and therefore remain virtually ineffective. Researchers at Bayer HealthCare are now performing clinical tests on a new substance that is not recognized by the pumps.
Tricking the control system of cancer cells
The active ingredient sagopilone – a new kind of epothilone – hardens the skeleton of cancer cells, ultimately causing them to self-destruct. The new substance could also represent a major medical advance in the treatment of brain tumors. Read about the methods researchers are using to bypass the cancer cells’ control system.
18th Edition (2006)
Cancer research
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