VietNamNet Bridge - A new drug for cancer treatment produced by Vietnam at the price which is equivalent to one third of the similar one processed by the US will be available soon. The medicine has been successfully tested on animals in laboratory.

Dr. Pham Thi Minh Hue, from the Ha Noi University of Pharmacy, who chaired the research, said cancer patients currently have to use intravenous drugs that are highly toxic.

The drug will notaffect the healthy organs in the body. Thus, producing a drug that goes to the target only (the tumor), and not affecting healthy cells of the body, is the goal of the scientists.

A pharmaceutical firm in the US offers this kind of drug but it is very expensive, over VND7 million ($330)/vial. Poor patients cannot afford the drug.

In Vietnam, a team of scientists at the University of Pharmacy has successfully developed the on-target cancer drug, using the nano- liposome technology. The medicine has been proven successful in the laboratory.

With this technology, anti-cancer Doxorubocin active element is taken to the "target" to destroy the malignant tumors effectively without damaging healthy components.

This product has been successfully tested in the laboratory, on mice bearing human cancer cells. Specifically, the experts of the Military Medical Academy transplanted human cancer cells in mice, including lung cancer, colon cancer, cervical cancer, tongue cancer, and some other cancers.

"We have tested the drug in accordance with the world standard, with a minimum of 4 batches, each batch with 6 mice. The mice were transplanted with tumors from human cancer cells. Some mice were not treated with drugs; some were injected with cancer drug, but not the one on research; some mice were injected with the US drug and some with the drug of Vietnam. The result was very positive. The tumors significantly reduced, extending the lifetime of the animals. Our drug is as good as the American product, somewhat more prominent," Professor Hue said.

In particular, the mastery of the nano-liposomes technology will help Vietnamese scientists prepare other on-target drugs.

Professor Hue said this product was successfully produced on a laboratory scale. Vietnamese scientists will expand production scale and perform more extensive tests on animals and on humans.

Prof. Hue hoped that in the next few years Vietnam will produce medicines for cancer treatment on target at low cost to serve more patients.

Thu Ly