Drug offers hope against leukaemia

A DRUG which is able to kill leukaemia cells, including those resistant to traditional chemotherapy, could be ready for clinical trial in three years, offering fresh hope to those with the most common form of the disease.

The drug, called pyrrolo-1,5-benzoxazepine-15 or PBOX-15, is able to kill leukaemia cells while sparing normal cells in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), a slowly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), in partnership with researchers at the University of Sienna, made the groundbreaking discovery, details of which were published yesterday in the prestigious international journal Cancer Research.