(OTCBB: GVBP.OB) - GENova Biotherapeutics, Inc., ("GENova"), a biotechnology company that identifies, acquires, and develops novel drug targets that disrupt the advance of life-threatening diseases, today announced it has filed a patent for a potential blockbuster drug target that combats breast cancer.
The target, Tetanolic acid, is a tailor-made lipid which induces cell death in breast cancer cells, thus curtailing development of the harmful cancer.
This novel approach - using proteins to stop cancer - is based on recent discoveries that indicate that most tumors are derived from a cancer stem cell. The technology behind Tetanolic acid involved identifying specific characteristics of these cancer stem cells and then tailoring a lipid (Tetanolic acid) that can identify these characteristics and then attack the malignant cells whilst leaving healthy cells intact. This tailor-made cancer treatment strategy is far superior to any existing therapies, as it terminates the cancer at the source, with no side effects, and no harm to surrounding healthy tissues.
"This target has tremendous market potential, as it can ultimately eliminate the need for surgery and chemotherapy," says Aaron Whiteman for GENova.
Worldwide, breast cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death, and is the most common cancer (and cause of cancer death) in women. The demand for new and better treatments for the disease is as urgent as ever.
Whiteman explains GENova's novel approach: "If you compared this disease to a tree, so far, treatments have only treated the crown of the tree - its branches and leaves, and even tried to hit the stem, but no treatment has penetrated its roots. Now that we can identify cancer stem cells, we can remove the root at its formation, and therefore eliminate all sources of life to the tumor. That is the potential behind Tetonolic acid."
Researchers uncover key genes linked to DCIS progression