Russian scientists have developed a new anti-cancer compound that proved to be 1.5 times more effective than osimertinib – one of the newest and most expensive cancer drugs. The research was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation.

Most modern chemotherapeutic agents block the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) – a protein that is overly active in cancer cells and causes them to divide uncontrollably. However, in some cases, mutations arise that make the tumor resistant to existing drugs.

Scientists managed to create a hybrid molecule that acts on EGFR not only in the active site but also in those areas that are not affected by the mutation. The key was the addition of a single chlorine atom to the molecule's structure – this made it an "ideal key" to the receptor.

In experiments, the chlorine-free compound already showed efficacy comparable to osimertinib against lung, liver, colorectal, and breast cancer cells. And the addition of chlorine increased its effectiveness by 1.5 times. As Olga Mikolaychuk, a senior researcher at RANEPA, noted, in the future, this discovery will make it possible to increase the effectiveness and reduce the cost of treating resistant forms of neoplasms.