Peloruside

From sponge to potential cancer breakthrough

Victoria University's discovery of a potential anti-cancer agent was a breakthrough of global significance – so it was no shock when offers to help develop it into a pharmaceutical drug came from medical establishments far and wide.

Peloruside was discovered in a marine sponge living in New Zealand's Pelorus Sound by Victoria University senior lecturer Dr Peter Northcote and colleagues at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).

Its early development was in collaboration with scientists in the Schools of Chemical & Physical Sciences and Biological Sciences at Victoria University, the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in Wellington, and the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre.

This work was aided by a $2.3 million grant from New Zealand's Foundation for Research, Science & Technology as well as grants from the New Zealand Cancer Society and the Wellington Medical Research Foundation.

In 2005, Victoria University signed a three-way agreement with the prestigious University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre and the Dallas-based biopharmaceutical company, Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Together, the three institutions will work to turn Victoria University's discovery into an anti-cancer pharmaceutical drug.