A treatment developed by Western Australian biotechnology company Solbec Pharmaceuticals has led to total remission of mesothelioma in mice.
The results come from trials conducted by the Tumour Immunology Group at the University of Western Australia.
The study was designed to learn how Solbec’s drug Coramsine primed the immune system and whether it could bring about long-term remission of mesothelioma.
Treatment with Coramsine in combination with an immune triggering compound called CpG led to a much grater response that had been seen with the use of either agent on its own.
The study found that the Coramsine-CpG therapy has the added effect of stimulating lasting immunity against the cancer, while attempts to cause tumour formation in a treated, “cured” mouse failed.
Coramsine contains two compounds extracted from a plant known as the Devil’s Apple and is undergoing parallel development for the treatment of psoriasis as well as cancers such as mesothelioma and melanoma.
It acts by binding to a receptor on cancer cells and causing their death.
Solbec plans to partner or out-licence Coramsine for the final stages of pre-commercial development and marketing.
Stockman’s lore has it that applying the sap of the Devil’s Apple fruit to a skin cancer will cause it to disappear.
