Scientists have identified an enzyme called heparanase that causes breast cancers to spread. But the cost of producing an anti-heparanase drug that’s safe for breast cancer patients is exorbitant – $380,000 per gram!
Dr Olga Zubkova and her team of carbohydrate chemists at Victoria University’s Ferrier Institute have figured out a much simpler design for a safe anti-heparanase drug – it could cost a thousand times less! We’re giving her $100,000 to investigate this new drug as part of the five-year BCFNZ Ferrier Breast Cancer Research Programme.