Cancer drugs grown sustainably in yeast
Two widely used cancer medicines are difficult to produce and depend on a rare plant species. Researchers have now found a way to make them in yeast. That could fundamentally improve the supply of these essential drugs.
Etoposide and teniposide have been used as chemotherapy for decades in cancers including lung cancer and leukemia. They are extracted from the mayapple plant (Podophyllum), which grows slowly and makes production slow, expensive, and vulnerable to shortages. Cultivating the plant is also resource-intensive.
In a study published in Science, the researchers describe how they reconstructed the full biosynthetic pathway for these compounds in yeast cells. Yeast is an established platform for producing complex molecules: the production of the antimalarial artemisinin in yeast is a well-known earlier example. In this case, multiple enzymatic steps were required, and some enzyme genes had to be modified to function properly in yeast cells.
From proof of concept to scalable production
The yeast currently produces small quantities of the active compounds. The research establishes the principle, but scaling to industrial volumes is the next challenge. That process can take years and requires further optimization of the yeast strains and fermentation process.
Even so, the step is significant. Etoposide appears on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines but is difficult to obtain in some lower-income countries due to limited and costly supply chains. A biotechnological production process could break that plant dependency and potentially reduce costs.
Broader relevance for drug development
For the longevity field, this research has indirect relevance. Cancer-related aging, where cancer treatment itself accelerates aging processes, is an active area of study. Better and broader access to chemotherapy can also improve treatment of age-related cancers. Beyond that, the work demonstrates how biotechnological synthesis can democratize the production of complex medicines.
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