Med-Chemist : "Quintessential Medicinal Chemistry"
"There is an urgent need to develop new drug combinations," Dr. Gupta said. "Our study demonstrates that combining emetine with cisplatin is potentially beneficial, and merits further study in clinical trials."
Jahchan tested the effect of a tricyclic antidepressant called imipramine (see structure) on human small-cell lung cancer cells grown in the laboratory and growing as tumors in laboratory mice. She found that the drug was able to potently activate a self-destruction pathway in the cancer cells and to slow or block metastases in the animals. The drug maintained its effectiveness regardless of whether the cancer cells had previously been exposed, and become resistant, to traditional chemotherapy treatments. Another drug, an antihistamine called promethazine, identified by the bioinformatics screen, also exhibited cancer-cell-killing abilities."Our collaboration with the Butte lab allowed us to move very quickly from the initial idea to very convincing results," Sage said. "It was less than 20 months from the time of our first discussion to a clinical trial because the bioinformatics approach had been established and the drugs are FDA-approved. By focusing on diseases with little hope for the patient, it's easier to go forward fast."
