E U Doctoral students of 'Magicbullet' network to develop 'gentle' Cancer Treatment

Medication that specifically targets cancer cells and delivers its active agent without harming healthy cells, this is what doctoral students of the 'Magicbullet' network will be working on from mid-2015. Bielefeld University is coordinating the program for the development of "gentle" cancer treatment. The European Union is supporting it with around €4 million in funding.
Current cancer therapies are usually accompanied by severe side effects. "The reason for this is that active agents are used which are designed to poison and kill the cancer cells. These active agents also damage healthy cells," says Professor Dr. Norbert Sewald. He is the coordinator of the new programme, a European Training Network for young researchers in the frame of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions.
The development of the targeted, gentle cancer medication involves the researchers of Magicbullet attaching the toxic active agent (payload) to a peptide (a small protein molecule,delivery vector). These delivery vectors recognize molecules that are typical for tumor cells, bind to them and deliver the payload. "The delivery vectors are a kind of address label containing information as to where the anti-tumor payloads are to be delivered," says Sewald. According to the scientist, such new treatments could fulfill the earlier vision of Nobel laureate Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915), who coined the term "magic bullets" for such tumor-targeting conjugates.
"Drugs based on this principle are already on the market," explains Sewald. "These contain antibodies, though, that is to say large protein molecules produced by means of biotechnology, which have to be purified elaborately and are, therefore, very expensive. But we want to develop small protein molecules, peptides, as the transporters of the active agent. The advantage is that the chemical processes to produce them are simpler and quicker than those for antibodies." For instance, during the production process it is easier to remove impurities. "Peptides can take a higher load of active agent and easily penetrate tissue. That's what makes them so special," says Sewald. Peptides are roughly one hundred times smaller than antibodies. For Sewald it is also important that they can be produced in a highly purified form. The new program is all about fundamental research. "Our drugs will be prototypes. But we will be creating the scientific basis for anti-tumor medicines which could come on the market in perhaps ten or twenty years' time," explains Sewald.