Revolutionary Chinese Drug Offers Hope for Rare Eye Cancer
Hangzhou, China – A novel Aptamer Drug Conjugate (ApDC), developed by a team of Chinese researchers, has received Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), bringing new hope to patients with rare eye cancer. The Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced on Saturday.
As the first ApDC globally to secure FDA’s ODD status, this drug was developed by teams from HIM and Wenzhou Medical University. Orphan drugs are specifically designed to treat rare diseases.
Targeting aggressive tumors like uveal melanoma and liver metastasis, this drug uses aptamer as a molecular target to accurately bind to cancer cells and deliver antitumor drugs. With fewer side effects and high safety, it minimizes healthy tissue damage and achieves more efficient and safer therapeutic effects.
Extensive animal experiments have shown that ApDC not only efficiently inhibits the growth of in situ eye tumors but also significantly reduces the risk of tumor metastasis to the liver, lungs, bones, and brain, demonstrating significant antitumor effects.
The research team plans to conduct clinical trials and apply the drug as soon as possible, offering new hope for patients.
Uveal melanoma is a rare yet deadly eye cancer. Its early symptoms are often unclear, leading to late diagnoses for many patients. This cancer is highly prone to spreading through the bloodstream, particularly to the liver. Once metastasis occurs, patients’ average survival time is less than a year.
