The third Annual Symposium on Cancer Drug Discovery at Sudbury Regional Hospital May 28 and 29 provided an opportunity for scientists to network and share their findings from anti-cancer drug research.
The event attracted approximately 60 scientists from Ontario, Quebec and the United States. The focus was on natural products as potential health promoting agents and the development of cancer therapeutics.
Many out-of-town attendees were very impressed with the high quality of scientific activities and forums occurring in Sudbury, said Dr. Hoyun Lee, senior scientist, Regional Cancer Program and chair of the Northeastern Ontario Cancer Therapeutics Research Initiative (CTRI).
"The annual Cancer Drug Discovery symposium is truly a wonderful opportunity for scientists and trainees from both academia and industry to communicate with each other and develop research projects that are relevant to drug discovery," Lee said.
The CTRI was formed in 2008, and is comprised of 10 scientists from six different institutions. The consortium is a collaborative effort that draws upon different scientific expertise to develop drugs to combat cancer.
"In my laboratory, we have already screened 36,000 synthetic and natural compounds to identify potential anti-cancer drugs," Lee said.
He explained that developing a drug is a complex process that requires collaboration and support of industry and government. Big pharmaceutical companies usually take at least 10 years and $1 billion to develop one anti-cancer drug.
"One of the pharmaceutical companies that attended the symposium is very interested in developing close collaboration with us," Lee added.
One of the more widely prescribed anti-cancer drugs called Taxol is made from the needles of ground hemlock, or eastern yew. Scientist Dr. Mamdouh Abou-Zaid, who works at NRCan's Great Lakes Forestry Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, was responsible for the drug preparation patent on taxanes (Taxol® paclitaxel). He also spoke at the symposium about characterization and identification of antioxidant polyphenols in maple syrup.
Dr. Ching-Shih Chen from Ohio State University presented data on three potentially effective anti-cancer drugs. Two of the three compounds are presently in phase one and two clinical trials in the United States.
"We are also taking a similar approach in identifying effective cancer drugs," said Lee.
Poster presentations were also highlighted. On day two, several awards were presented to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in order to encourage further cancer research.
A strong promoter of Sudbury, Lee hopes that the research will expand and result in the development of anti-cancer drugs, putting this small northern city on the medical research and drug-discovery map.
