In a groundbreaking stride forward for cancer treatment, scientists from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Thailand have marked a first by successfully developing an antibody from tobacco plants. This novel antibody has displayed promising potential in the laboratory, notably inhibiting the development and growth of cancer cells in lab animals, thereby paving the way for more efficient and cost-effective cancer treatments. This breakthrough comes hot on the heels of their astounding accomplishment in formulating a COVID-19 vaccine from tobacco plants.
Initiator and innovator of the research, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Waranyoo Phoolcharoen from the Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, has expressed his highest hopes that this innovative pharmaceutical research leads to a substantial decrease in the cost of production. In turn, he aims for a significant increase in accessibility to efficacious cancer medication for those in need.
The ingenuity and potential of this research have not gone unnoticed. A prestigious 2023 research award by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) is set to illuminate the path for this critical work.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Waranyoo drew a vivid picture explaining the fundamentals of cancer immunotherapy, contrasting it with chemotherapy: “Cancer cells bind to and impede the functioning of cells in our immune system causing cancer. While chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells directly, immunotherapy or cell therapy aims to stimulate the body’s own immune system to fend off cancer cells.”
Despite the growing popularity of Immunotherapy, the bitter truth lurking beyond is the high costs associated with the production of antibody drugs, primarily due to dependence on foreign technology. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Waranyoo aims to bridge this gap by developing cost-effective antibody drugs for wider accessibility.
Backed by CU Enterprise, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Waranyoo and his research team are delving into the fascinating realm of plant biotechnology to develop and produce recombinant proteins, secondary metabolites, and plant viruses, using an Australian species of tobacco plant, Nicotiana benthamiana, as their prime agent in drug production. He substantiated, “The bacteria enter this plant strain readily and produce substantial quantities of the desired antibodies.”
After inserting the gene that produces antibodies into the tobacco plant, the plants serve as natural factories that generate the much-needed antibodies. “The antibodies that we produced from these plants have proven effective in shrinking the size of cancerous cells in lab animals. The effectiveness of these plant-derived drugs even parallels that of conventionally available drugs,” Dr. Waranyoo proudly declares.
The next steps of the research entail safety and toxicity testing, followed by structural analysis of the drug. The ultimate objective, as revealed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Waranyoo is to “produce our own locally sourced medicines, lessening the production cost and hence, the medical expenses. It will inherently increase accessibility to cancer medication.” Besides cancer, this unique technology can be harnessed to develop drugs or vaccines for several other diseases. The team is currently exploring using such plant-derived antibodies against diseases like rabies, Ebola, Nipah etc.
In conclusion, this revolutionary stride forward in the field of medicine underscores the talented Thai researchers’ ability and resolution to develop competitive pharmaceutical treatments. The vision is to foster strength and stability in medical treatments for the Thai people. A dream that can soon be realized.
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