BYU chemists have made a significant discovery in the battle against cancer, and possibly multiple sclerosis, by developing an improved way for synthesizing cladribine, a cancer-fighting drug.

The drug, which has proven effective at fighting hairy cell leukemia and other forms of cancer, is very difficult and expensive to produce. BYU researchers have found a new way for synthesizing the drug without the expense and useless byproducts formed in the previous process, making the new technique invaluable for cancer patients.

"We figured out a new procedure for making cladribine where we make it at least 99 percent pure," said Morris Robins, the J. Rex Goates Professor of Chemistry at BYU. "There is less than 1 percent of an incorrect isomer with this new method."

The old method produced unwanted byproducts that were expensive to remove and only produced the pure compound cladribine 85 percent of the time.

Robins led a research group that consisted of graduate student Minghong Zhong and postdoctoral fellow Ireneusz Nowak. Their research was recently published in "The Journal of Organic Chemistry."

Robins first developed the drug in the 1960s when he was a graduate student at Arizona State University. The compound has become the drug of choice for doctors who have patients with hairy cell leukemia.

The drug provides such patients with a 90 percent chance of complete remission.

"It's very gratifying to know that something we do in the laboratory may be used to improve the condition of others," said Robins.

Around 800 people are diagnosed with hairy cell leukemia each year. This form of cancer may never completely disappear, making it one of the more chronic forms.

BYU is in the patent application process for the new procedure. Once a patent is received, the synthesizing process can be licensed out to pharmaceutical companies for manufacturing.

The new method of producing the drug will allow manufacturers to make the compound more efficiently and cost effectively.

The new method has raised eyebrows in the chemist world. Piet Herdewijn, a professor of medicinal chemistry at the Rega Institute for Medical Research in Belgium said in a news release the new method is an important step towards perfecting a technology that is not heavily known.

"A good method to synthesize cladribine is important for industries that produce this compound, and even more important to the patients that need the drug for treatment," said Herdewijn. "Dr. Robins' methodology has no precedent in the field and brings the technology near to perfection."

Cladribine is also being tested as a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis, a disease that affects two million people worldwide. A drug company called Serono is performing the tests.

Copyright Brigham Young University 10 Nov 2006