Chapter 669 Drug development! Target molecule!

Xu Qiu could have chosen other places, such as Daxia Pharmaceutical Corporation, where the R\u0026D equipment and medical devices of the other party are top-notch, and the financial support they can provide is also calculated in billions.

But he still chose to support pharmaceutical companies within Baiyun Province...

If Baiyun Pharmaceutical Factory still cares about the fixed assets in its hands, it would be too unkind.

Xu Qiu treats them sincerely, so the pharmaceutical factory has nothing to fear, so it will bet everything and give it a try!

"Sell it!" Many senior executives of Baiyun Pharmaceutical Factory exhaled and made up their minds.

...

At this time, in the drug research and development institute of Baiyun Pharmaceutical Factory.

The research teams at all levels are busy, and they have different focuses. A total of seven top teams are conducting experiments and screening of different targets according to Xu Qiu's plan.

Drug research and development also has its basic steps before moving to clinical trials.

The first step is to find the drug target.

That is, the binding site of the drug in the body, including gene sites, receptors, enzymes, ion channels, and nucleic acid biomacromolecules.

After finding the target, the next step is to find a compound that has an effect on the target, also known as a lead compound.

Then, around the lead compound, a large number of new compounds are designed and synthesized, and the compounds with the best effect, the best activity and the least side effects are found.

Finally, a combination of candidate compounds is selected for formal development.

Only after completing these steps can preclinical research begin, and gradually move towards the clinical trial stage...

It's like aiming and shooting.

The target is the target that needs to be hit, and confirming the lead compound is like finding the gunpowder for making bullets; the subsequent compound arrangement and combination is to adjust the ratio of gunpowder to achieve maximum power; finally, the bullet is further modified and improved, such as the caliber of the bullet, the shape of the bullet, etc.

And now the research and development institute is still at the step of drug target.

Even for general tumors, there are not many targeted drugs, and liver cancer has extremely few targeted drugs. The reason is that its heterogeneity is too strong, so it is very difficult to confirm the target.

Moreover, different gene mutations lead to completely different types of liver cancer, and the targets are naturally very different, which makes the development of targeted drugs for liver cancer even more difficult.

Even the so-called miracle drug for liver cancer, sorafenib, is not universal, and only about 10% to 30% of patients can be effective in clinical practice.

Xu Qiu chose liver cancer as the first drug development, which was a nightmare start.

"There are at least three considerations for effective molecular drug targets...

"One is whether the target is significantly mutated in the tumor area and not expressed in the non-tumor area."

This is to make the drug more targeted and avoid causing damage to normal tissues.

This is also the magic of targeted drugs-only killing cancer cells, while causing less damage to other parts.

"The second point is the expression probability of the target. ”

For liver cancer, the best target must be expressed in all types of liver cancer, so that all liver cancers can be covered.

Of course, wanting to do this is nothing short of a fantasy.

It is no exaggeration to say that if anyone can find a target expressed by all liver cancers, he does not need to find a lead compound. Just this one target will make global pharmaceutical giants scramble for it, and it is easy to bid hundreds of millions of dollars!

And it will definitely leave a strong mark in the history of medicine.

Although Xu Qiu has god-level scientific research capabilities, it is almost impossible to do this within five months.

Liver cancer is the top cancer that troubles countless pharmaceutical companies. It is difficult to conquer just one type. It is so exaggerated to want to solve all types of liver cancer at once.

Therefore, Xu Qiu first chose hepatocellular carcinoma, which is also the most common liver cancer.

What the research and development is currently doing is to find targets expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma.

"The last aspect of an effective target is the characteristic of the target! ”

Even if a certain target is expressed in all hepatocellular carcinomas, but it has nothing to do with the occurrence of cancer, it is useless.

At the same time, it is also required that the target is the main cause of cancer.

This is not over yet. The target causing cancer is only one of the prerequisites. As a drug target, it can be considered an effective target only if the tumor is suppressed and will not occur again after blocking it!

With the help of god-level scientific research capabilities, Xu Qiu screened 121 targets, all of which are highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma, and the seven R\u0026D teams checked these targets one by one.

"Doctor Xu, the target CDK20 is very druggable!" Han Chang, the chief researcher of Team No. 1, said excitedly.

These days, they have been experimenting with the feasibility of CDK20.

After comparing 1,300 disease samples and 700 healthy controls, they found that CDK20 is closely related to the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma. As for whether the cancer will disappear after inhibiting CDK20, the results will be out soon.

"Let me see. "Xu Qiu asked for a stack of experimental data and sat down to read it.

Han Chang and others had long been accustomed to this scene and continued their research.

Many researchers gathered in front of a laboratory, where tests were being conducted to see whether hepatocellular carcinoma would be affected after blocking CDK20...

"The results are coming out soon!" Han Chang was also very excited.

The precise instruments operated slowly, and an hour passed quickly.

But for researchers, this wait is nothing.

Under the microscope, hepatocellular carcinoma slowly loses activity, and all indicators suggesting hepatocellular carcinoma are declining rapidly...

"Successful!" The laboratory burst into excited cheers.

Han Chang was also so excited that he was speechless... CDK20 is really effective, and hepatocellular carcinoma really died after being blocked!

"Shh, be quiet!" Suddenly, Han Chang noticed Xu Qiu who was still browsing the information. He pressed his palms and the laboratory returned to silence.

But the joy of the researchers could not be suppressed. Everyone gathered together and discussed in low voices.

"It's done, it's done! I can't even imagine it!"

"With the conventional drug development process, it would take half a year or even a year just to find this one target among countless molecules, but Dr. Xu directly provided us with 121 Target!"

"How did Dr. Xu come up with the idea? Although the first few targets were excluded by us, they are all highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma. To find these targets, even the world's largest pharmaceutical company has to do Not enough?"

"How long did it take to find CDK20? Less than a week, right? Within three or four days, we found a usable target. As long as its effectiveness is confirmed, we can start testing the lead compound. That will officially start drug development!"

Everyone was excited.

Their eyes also looked at Xu Qiu in unison... They were all waiting for Xu Qiu to come back from her meditation and tell him the good news.

After waiting for another two hours, Xu Qiu looked back from more than a hundred pages of thick information.

Wow.

The sound of closing the documents was particularly noticeable in the quiet laboratory. Han Chang and others looked over at the same time, with impatient expressions on their expressions.

However, before Han Chang could speak, Xu Qiu shook his head and announced: "CDK20 is a failed target."