Drs Aamir Ahmed (Prostate Cancer Research Centre, KCL Division of Surgery) and Christopher Thrasivoulou (UCL Cell and Developmental Biology) have been awarded a patent by the EPO for their ground-breaking drug repurposing therapy for epithelial cancers such as breast and prostate (European Patent No. 3060204). These cancers cause hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide and are a significant cost burden for the NHS. Evidence based drug repurposing, use of drugs that are indicated for diseases other than cancer, can offer both clinical and cost-effective therapy for devastating diseases such as cancer. Another key advantage of such therapies is limited and known side effects, unlike the severe side effects of current cancer therapies.
Links:
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search/family/049727160/publication/EP3060204A2?q=3060204
https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(19)54289-2/fulltext
Image: A convergent model for the canonical (Wnt/β-catenin) and non-canonical (Wnt/Ca2+) Wnt signaling, in mammalian cell lines. Thrasivoulou, Millar & Ahmed.
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