An international research consortium discovered the MCLA-158 antibody, which could prevent the spread of cancer and metastasis. It is the first drug directed at cancer stem cells in solid tumors and represents very good and hopeful news in terms of cancer.
The discovery of this antibody was led by the scientific team of the Biomedical Research Institute of Barcelona (IRB), by Eduard Batlle. The MCLA-158 allowed block the spread of cancer and slowed the growth of a primary tumor in mice, which would prevent the spread of the disease and metastasis.
Batlle was working in collaboration with the biotechnological company Merus NV The preclinical data, which have led to the discovery of MCLA-158 and its mechanism of action on cancer stem cells, were published by the journal Nature Cancer.
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“We started researching cancer stem cells 15 years ago. The road to get here has been exciting, but also very complex. It has required a large investment of resources and the efforts of many researchers. The medicine of the future starts here”, explained Batlle in reference to this novel finding.
The experts carried out the investigations corresponding to the safety, tolerability and antitumor of MCLA-158 monotherapy in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. During the trial, three of seven patients achieved partial remissions and one achieved complete remission. In all seven patients, there was a reduction of the tumor.
Batlee detailed that the antibody “does not interfere with the functioning of healthy stem cells of the body, which are essential for the proper functioning of the tissues.