Sevastopol State University (SevSU) is developing a new anti-cancer drug that combines standard antitumor antibiotics with carbon nanoparticles. Maxim Evstigneev, director of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the institution, expects the technology, which has been under development since the 1990s, to be ready for clinical trials by 2029. The project will receive 16 million rubles annually.
According to Evstigneev, SevSU has joined the world-class scientific center “New Special Purpose Materials”, which performes assignments under the state program of scientific and technological development. “Funding under this program will amount to approximately 16 million rubles per year, and by 2029 we must certify the technology as medical and prepare it for the clinical trial stage,” the expert noted.
He added that the know-how being developed is a combination of standard antitumor antibiotics (including those used in late-stage cancers) and carbon nanoparticles to increase the effectiveness of the therapy.
Yevstigneev noted that fundamental research in the area has been ongoing since the 1990s, with laboratory tests and numerous publications accumulating over the years. Now, the scientists have decided to move on to the applied stage: in the coming years, they plan to conduct certification studies—including physico-chemical, cellular, and animal tests—as well as adapt the technology for production.
Currently, scientists need to identify commercially available nanoparticles that boost the efficacy of antibiotics against tumors and can be seamlessly incorporated into the production process. At the same time, the team will look for an industrial partner to launch clinical trials in 2029.
In 2018, it was reported that SevSU scientists are investigating combinations of nanoparticles with medicinal compounds. It was noted that, in the future, this development will enable the creation of a technology that minimizes the side effects of chemotherapy for cancer patients.
