An Iranian researcher in Karolinska Medical University, Saeed Eshtad, has developed an anti-cancer drug whose first clinical test would be conducted in England next year. “The MTH1 project is an international project conducted by Karolinska University and Sci Life Lab in the form of a 50-member research team. I was one of the lead authors of the study,” he told ISNA. The research phase of the study took five years and its article was published in The Nature in 2014 after the research phase was completed. Eshtad said the drug is now in pre-clinical phase, adding that the study aims to use a chemical drug to curb MTH1 enzyme and act exclusively. A new anti-cancer drug was obtained in the study, which destroys cancer cells but has no adverse impact on healthy cells. “The drug was tested on animals in cases of acute myeloid leukemia and colorectal cancer,” he said, adding that acceptable results were obtained.
