US biomedical company Q BioMed has entered into an agreement with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) and India’s Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology to develop a chemotherapeutic technology to treat liver cancer.

The technology will use uttroside B and its derivatives as an agent against hepatocellular carcinoma, which is the most common type of liver cancer. Uttroside B is a potent saponin - a naturally occurring chemical found in particular abundance in various plant species – and its preclinical efficacy against liver cancer was demonstrated in a study published in Scientific Reports journal on Nov. 3, 2016.

The study’s researchers showed that in animal models, uttroside B was ten times more cytotoxic to the HepG2 liver cancer cell line than the only drug currently available and approved by the Food and Drug Administration for this type of cancer. It also did not cause any noticeable side effects.

Q BioMed said chemotherapeutic options for liver cancer are limited and the prognosis for patients remains “challenging”. The New York-based company noted that the present drug has been shown to increase survival by only a short period of time and has also reported some serious side effects, including raised blood pressure, bleeding problems, decreased blood flow to the heart and heart attacks.

Encouraged by the preclinical results, Q BioMed’s CEO, Denis Corin, said the company looks forward to collaborating with OMRF and RGCB on further preclinical and clinical evaluations of uttroside B. He commented: “Our ultimate goal is to use it as an effective chemotherapeutic against liver cancer, which currently has very few therapeutic options.” The uttroside B technology is currently covered by a provisional patent application.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, liver cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide, claiming approximately 750,000 lives each year.