From repurposing anti-parasitic drug to prodrugs towards cancer and lupus treatments
November 5, 2025 @ 10:00 – 11:00 CET
Welcome to this DDD exit seminar, hosted by the DDD platform in Navet, Uppsala.
Please register below for either on site or online attendance.
Speakers
Peter Nygren is a senior physician in oncology, specializing in gastrointestinal cancer, at Akademiska hospital and a professor of oncology at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University since 2005. Peter’s research focuses on the development and validation of treatment predictive tests, the development of new cancer drugs and the improvement of the treatment of gastrointestinal cancer, including through dietary interventions.
Mårten Fryknäs is an Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Experimental Clinical Pharmacology at the Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University. His research focuses on the development of cell-based assays, drug screening, and mechanism deconvolution in two- and three-dimensional models. The overall aim is to identify new approaches for the pharmacological treatment of cancer.
Rolf Larsson has been a professor and senior physician in clinical pharmacology at the Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University since 2000. Rolf Larsson’s research focus is cancer pharmacology, where the identification and development of new cancer drugs is a main focus. “Repurposing” of already existing drugs for use in cancer treatment is another area of interest.
Abstract
Scientific breakthroughs sometimes arise from unexpected observations. In our case, it was a seemingly random discovery: that the established antiparasitic drug mebendazole also had significant effects against cancer and autoimmune disease. This observation became the starting point for a research program supported by SciLifeLab Drug Discovery and Development, which we hope will open up new therapeutic strategies.
However, a key problem was the pharmacokinetic limitations of mebendazole, which had long hampered the ability to exploit its full potential. To address this, a prodrug was developed with the aim of improving the bioavailability and the pharmacodynamic profile. In parallel, systematic work was carried out to clarify the molecular mechanism of action that had long eluded us and which required both methodological innovations and interdisciplinary approaches to solve.After several years of study, we were finally able to identify a mechanism that explains the observed effects and thus sheds light on new biological links between mebendazole and key disease processes. The results not only provide a new understanding of how the substance works, but also point to the possibility of developing a whole new class of therapeutics.
At our DDD-exit seminar, we will present the scientific journey from random observation to mechanistic explanation and discuss the implications our findings may have for the future treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Host: Ylva Gravenfors ylva.gravenfors@scilifelab.se and SciLifeLab Drug Discovery and Development Platform
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