Cancer A new treatment drug "photoimmunotherapy" world's first approval developer interview September 29, 12:44
Last week, the world's first approval of a new treatment that attacks cancer cells by shining light on a patient with a cancer drug combined with a chemical that reacts to light.
The researcher who developed this drug held a press conference and expressed his hope that it would be another option for cancer treatment.
Hisataka Kobayashi, a senior researcher at the National Institutes of Health in the United States, developed a cancer treatment that combines a drug that uses antibodies to target cancer with a chemical that reacts to light. For the first time, it was approved in Japan as a treatment for cervical cancer, which is difficult to treat with other treatments.
On the 29th, Senior Researcher Kobayashi and Hiroshi Mikitani, chairman of Rakuten Medical, a pharmaceutical company that developed drugs, held a press conference in Tokyo.
The drug is given to patients by intravenous drip and is activated when a near-infrared laser beam is applied from outside the body to destroy cancer cells, which is called "photoimmunotherapy".
Kobayashi said that he has been studying this treatment for decades, saying, "It's meaningless if it's out of the reach of patients, and I'm happy that it was approved in Japan. Another option for cancer treatment. I hope you will become. "
In addition, Chairman Mikitani said, "I think it will be possible to combine it with other chemotherapy. I want to deliver it to patients as soon as possible."
The drug will be covered by medical insurance in the future, but since it was approved early, its safety and efficacy will be verified even after it is sold.