Everett lab works on drug could cure some cancerous tumors
Scientists in Everett are trying to develop part of a drug that could potentially cure certain tumorous cancers.
Bill Gates' TerraPower Isotopes lab is the first to use part of a radioactive material to fight disease.
Uranium-233 was originally meant to be used as a powerful Cold War weapon but was quickly deemed too dangerous. The material has been sitting in a heavily guarded armed bunker for decades.
Terrapower Isotopes President Scott Claunch tells us if used in its original capacity, uranium-233 is deadly.
'It was thought at the time as a potential source for fuel for nuclear reactors,' Claunch said.
Now scientists want to use it to save lives instead.
'It works very specifically to deposit directly to the cancerous cells,' Claunch said.
TerraPower Isotopes is using the element broken down to its lowest form, also known as actinium 225. By extracting the actinium, the drug developers can turn it into part of an experimental drug.
'When it does that, the actinium destroys the cancerous cells and protects the healthy tissue,' Claunch said.
Protecting the healthy cells is the main goal. By only targeting the sick cancerous cells and not attacking the good ones, the outcomes and impacts of treatment are very different.
'This targeted alpha therapy really brings hope for the patient,' Claunch said. 'It destroys cancer at the cellular level and the side effects are minimal.'
Because of that careful attention to detail, hundreds of patients across the world are currently part of a phase three trial for a drug.
In one case, a male patient's body was shown riddled with metastasized prostate cancer. After a few months of treatment with the actinium drug, the tumors are gone according to his scans.
In this case, shocking results were clear.
The American Cancer Society data shows more than 616,000 people will die of Cancer in the U.S. in 2025. This is a number scientists in Everett are desperate to lower.
'It's difficult, rewarding, motivating, and the team of scientists and operators are some of the best in class people being tasked with solving these issues to enable a future without cancer or keep cancer at bay,' Claunch said.
If the drug makes it through all needed trials, it then will be submitted to the FDA for approved. Leaders tell us they hope this could be available to all cancer patients by 2028.
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