A new drug has taken the world of metastatic breast cancer by storm after reports of a chemical compound showing a 95-100% success rate against the cancer cells in animals surfaced. Experts believe that the compound may well be on its way to human trials. ErSO, a new drug developed by researchers at the University of Illinois, has been able to target and neutralize metastatic breast cancer cells in mice within days without the cells ever relapsing. Biochemistry professor, David Shapiro, said, "It was hard to imagine that we had a drug that would take cancers and cause them to just disappear in a matter of days." Pharma giant Bayer had signed a deal to buy the licensing rights to develop the drug earlier this year for a reported $370 million and tied up with Arizona-based Systems Oncology to develop the drug. Systems Oncology will receive $25 million upfront for the development of the drug and the rest of $345 million in royalties and other milestone-related payments. But reports claim that the partnership is no longer in effect and the project is dead in water. Bayer said in a statement, "Following a thorough assessment of ERSO in preclinical studies, Bayer has decided to discontinue development activities of this program for scientific reasons… we must take prudent steps to ensure the compounds have the potential to provide the therapeutic benefits we are striving to achieve for patients with cancer." ErSO Activism administrator Danny Goss said, "The fact that it was taken up by Bayer, that seemed promising. And then after 12 months to think, well, we're at the end of the line, it was disappointing. Really disappointing." Among recent major developments, more than 20,000 people have signed a petition to restart the program and it is expected that if it enters the human trial phase, it will benefit a lot of the patients battling with the life-threatening disease
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Health News
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.