July 2001 - University of Technology Sydney
In a development that promises a new approach to cancer therapy, UTS researchers have developed a chemical “warhead” - known as an immunotoxin - that effectively targets malignant cells with a new toxin found in an Australian ant.
Professor Robert Raison of the Cell and Molecular Biology Department describes the ant toxin and the vehicle for delivering it as “a guided missile”.
The research - funded by a $285,000 ARC Strategic Partnerships with Industry Research and Training (SPIRT) grant over three years - is being conducted by a UTS team in collaboration with industrial partner Dr Brian Baldo of NSL Health.
The team headed by Professor Raison comprises doctoral students Mr Andre Choo from Singapore, Ms Susan Lemke and postdoctoral researcher Dr Rosanne Dunn, whose doctoral thesis supervised by Professor Raison focused on this area.
The immunotoxin, which incorporates a major component from the venom of the jumper ant Myrmecia pilosula is four times more potent than an immunotoxin derived from bee venom, which the team investigated in an earlier research project.
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