News Release
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June 12, 2006
Boise State Professor Files for Provisional Patent for Drug
That has Potential to Make Chemotherapy Safer
Boise State University chemistry professor Henry Charlier
has filed a provisional patent application in the U.S. Patent Office for a
drug that may have potential to make chemotherapy treatments for cancer
patients safer and more effective.
The provisional patent application, made by Charlier and owned by Boise
State, is the beginning of the legal process to obtain protection for the
discovery for one year while Charlier continues his research studies.
Charlier demonstrated that bithionol, commonly used to treat patients with
liver flukes or other parasites, has an unexpected effect. Specifically,
bithionol and a related drug, bithionol sulfoxide, inhibit an enzyme that is
known to convert anthracyclines used in chemotherapy treatments to a
heart-damaging substance. Bithionol and bithionol sulfoxide could be used to
block the formation of this dangerous substance, thus making anthracyclines
safer for treating cancer.
“The use of anthracyclines to treat cancer is limited because of the
potential for heart damage,” Charlier said. “This new discovery is promising
because it could lead to the development of drugs that would prevent this
serious side effect from occurring.”
During his research, Charlier worked with scientists at the Veterans Affair
Regional Medical Center and at Boise State. A number of Boise State
undergraduate students are also involved in conducting laboratory
experiments. Charlier is also investigating other potential inhibitors that
may also improve anthracycline therapy.
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Contact: Henry Charlier, Department of Chemistry, (208) 426-3474,
hcharlie@boisestate.edu
Media Contact: Janelle Brown, University Communications (208)
426-1790, jbrown2@boisestate.edu
July 12 is the deadline for degree-seeking students to submit admission
materials to Boise State University for the fall 2006 semester. Students
must meet the deadline if they plan to take more than seven credits or apply
for federal financial aid. For more information, call (208) 426-1820 or go
online at
http://admissions.boisestate.edu.
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Last reviewed on Wednesday, January 03, 2007