Professor David Thurston
The London School of Pharmacy
University of London
London
Discovering new cancer drugs
Finding new drugs is a crucial area of research in the fight to beat cancer. Professor David Thurston at the London School of Pharmacy is searching for molecules that block signals encouraging cancer cells to grow and spread. He hopes to discover new drugs with fewer side effects than conventional chemotherapies, improving survival and quality of life for people with cancer.
Chemotherapy is a cornerstone of cancer treatment, but the drugs used can harm healthy cells as well as cancer cells – leading to unpleasant side effects. Professor Thurston is now searching for ‘targeted’ drugs that can home in on cancer cells, and should cause less damage to healthy ones.
Targeted drugs
His team is looking for molecules that block the signals that can trigger a series of ‘chain reactions’ within cells and help them to grow out of control.
They are using cutting-edge techniques to test thousands of molecules – many sourced from plants – in the lab. Their goal is to discover a range of candidates that can specifically block these chain reactions and stop cancer cell growth. Ultimately some of the molecules they identify could be used to create the next generation of cancer drugs.
New treatments
Professor Thurston has been discovering and developing new cancer drugs for over 20 years. A potential new drug produced by his team is now being tested in early clinical trials in the UK and the USA.
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