ROURKELA: A compound derived from the opium poppy could open new pathways for treating oral cancer, researchers at NIT-Rourkela and IISER Berhampur have found.
Researchers from the departments of Chemistry and Life Sciences of NIT-Rourkela and Chemistry department at IISER Berhampur have developed a novel therapeutic formulation based on cotarnine derived from noscapine, an alkaloid found in the poppy plant.
The innovation has been granted a patent titled ‘Design, Synthesis, and Formulation of a Cotarnine Derivative for Oral Cancer Therapy’.
The research focused on the design, synthesis and formulation of a new cotarnine derivative as a potential therapeutic candidate for oral cancer. The findings have indicated that the developed cotarnine derivative shows significant activity against oral cancer cells, particularly tongue cancer, even at very low concentrations.
“The next significant step is to validate these findings through further preclinical studies, including animal studies, followed by clinical evaluation,” Prof Bibekanand Mallick of NIT-R said.
The other team members include Laxmipriya Prusty and Prof Harekrushna Sahoo, Sruti Biswal of NIT-R and Pradyota Kumar Behera and Prof Laxmidhar Rout of IISER Berhampur.
“The development of this cotarnine derivative represents an important step towards exploring new molecular entities for oral cancer therapy. Through an integrated approach involving molecular design, synthesis and formulation, we have developed a promising candidate with potential for further preclinical and translational research,” Prof Sahoo said.
The researchers said the patented invention demonstrates the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing complex healthcare challenges. They added that further preclinical investigations are required to establish the safety, efficacy and therapeutic potential of the formulation.
