About Us - Mission

Camptothecin (CPT) based drugs, derived from a plant extract from the tree Camptotheca acuminata, were discovered in the mid-1960s and shown to have very promising potential as anticancer drugs. Their mechanism of action inhibits the activity of Topoisomerase I, an enzyme necessary for DNA replication in cell division, and leads to cell death by apoptosis.  The significance of these compounds was quickly recognized and as a result much work has been done in an attempt to tap their vast potential. The team at Cao Pharmaceuticals have been at the forefront of CPT based drug design. Our view is that the potential of these drugs has just begun to be unlocked. This view stems not only from our knowledge and experience in designing and studying new CPT based drugs in the laboratory, but also from seeing first-hand activity in human use.

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Our mission is to use the deep level of expertise gained in solely working with CPT compounds over the last twenty years to develop highly effective CPT based drugs in shorter timeframes compared to historical chemotherapy development. And in contrast to most chemotherapy, with not only low and manageable toxicity, but most importantly these toxicities have always been reversible in the former clinical trials.