Recipient organisationNewcastle UniversitySource-published name: Newcastle University
Funding£1.3M
PeriodSept 2025 — Sept 2027
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
Every year, more than 5,000 lung cancer patients in the UK alone develop tumours that no existing drug can touch. These patients’ cancers are driven by a protein called EGFR, which normally controls cell growth but becomes stuck in the “on” position when mutated. Current EGFR-blocking drugs work for one to three years, then fail because the cancer acquires new mutations that prevent the drug from binding. With no treatment options left, these patients face a terminal diagnosis. The researchers have already identified a series of molecules that bind to these drug-resistant EGFR mutants and stop lung cancer cells from growing in laboratory experiments. The next step is to chemically modify these lead molecules so they survive digestion, enter the bloodstream when taken orally, and remain stable in the body while retaining their ability to target the mutant protein. If successful in animal models, the team will advance a candidate toward clinical trials. This is a drug-development project with a clear practical goal: a new oral medicine for a patient population that currently has none. Success would mean thousands of people per year gaining a treatment where none existed before.
View original technical description
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death with 49,200 new lung cancer cases in the UK every year (>130 per day), 2.2 million cases and 1.8 million deaths per year worldwide.[www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/lung-cancer; www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lung-cancer] Estimates suggest there could be around 66,200 new cases of lung cancer per year in the UK by 2038-2040, with around 14,300 cases each year in England linked with deprivation. The cost of treatment could represent up to 0.8% of total healthcare spending. [DOI:10.1016/j.vhri.2022.07.007] A significant proportion of lung cancers are driven by changes (mutations) in a protein called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which accelerate the processes that make cancers grow. Drugs that stop EGFR from working are used to treat these cancers. They are effective for 1-3 years, but after this time, the cancers become resistant to treatment. In a large proportion of cases, this resistance arises from further mutations in the EGFR protein that stop drugs from binding to it. [DOI:10.1016/j.lungcan.2022.05.011] Patients affected by this have no current treatment options and drugs that can treat these resistant forms are needed urgently if lung cancer patients are to live longer, healthier lives. This project aims to develop new drugs that can treat EGFR resistant cancers by binding to the mutated forms of EGFR. We have discovered a series of molecules that are capable of this and have proven, in laboratory experiments, that they are effective in stopping the growth of lung cancer cells, including those resistant to current treatments. The next phase of the project is to develop molecules that are effective in animal models of resistant cancers to prove that this approach has promise for use in patients. This involves making chemical modifications to the existing lead molecules so that they are absorbed into the blood after being taken by mouth and are stable in the body, whilst maintaining their ability to bind to EGFR. Once this key milestone is reached, we will subsequently progress the project to achieve the necessary safety and effectiveness in a molecule that can be progressed into clinical trials, thus providing a potential new medicine for drug resistant lung cancer patients who currently have no treatment options. Based on the projected incidence of lung cancer and the proportion of patients developing resistance through EGFR mutations, this could provide life-saving therapy for >5,000 patients per year in the UK alone.
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