Angelina Jolie at the premiere of World War Z at the Empire, Leicester Square, London. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA WireAngelina Jolie at the premiere of World War Z at the Empire, Leicester Square, London. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

A new cancer drug for patients with the same faulty gene as actress Angelina Jolie has shown “impressive responses” in a clinical trial, researchers have said.

The potential drug, called BMN 673, targets DNA repair in cancer cells and is designed to attack tumours that have been left vulnerable by genetic mutations.

Scientists studying BMN 673, including Maltese doctor Johann de Bono, found the drug was “well tolerated” by patients and showed “excellent anti-tumour activity”, the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust said.

BRCA genes were brought into the public consciousness last month after Jolie, 37, revealed she underwent a double mastectomy when doctors told her that her faulty gene – BRCA1 – meant she had an 87 per cent risk of developing breast cancer and a 50 per cent risk of ovarian cancer.

The results of the trial – which was funded by US firm BioMarin Pharmaceutical and involved the University of Newcastle and several American institutions – were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco) meeting in Chicago.

Our promising study showed that BMN 673, a potent member of a family of potential drugs called Parp inhibitors, had excellent anti-tumour activity- Johann de Bono

Some 70 patients with a range of cancers, including ovarian or peritoneal, and breast, were monitored in the trial, and patients with cancers linked to BRCA mutations saw the most substantial improvement.

The researchers used different measures of the drug’s effect on tumour instability and breakdown.

Johann de Bono has been in-volved in developing more than 100 potential new drugs over the past decade, several of which are now available to patients.Johann de Bono has been in-volved in developing more than 100 potential new drugs over the past decade, several of which are now available to patients.

BRCA mutations reduce cells’ ability to repair their DNA and, when inherited, substantially increase the risk of developing a range of cancers, including breast, ovarian and prostate.

No targeted treatments have yet been approved specifically for use in patients who have inherited BRCA mutations.

BMN 673 – which is yet to be given a trade name – is one of a handful of a family of molecules called Parp inhibitors which are under development for the treatment of cancer. BMN 673 is one of the most promising Parp inhib-itors being tested in clinical trials.

Birżebbuġa-born De Bono, lead researcher at ICR, said: “Patients with germline BRCA-associated tum-ours have no targeted treatment options, and there is a real need for these to be developed.

“Our promising study showed that BMN 673, a potent member of a family of potential drugs called Parp inhibitors, had excellent anti-tumour activity. It’s one of a range of new-style cancer therapies that target specific molecular defects in tumours and offer the potential of more personalised treatments to patients, including those with BRCA mutations.”

De Bono has been involved in developing more than 100 potential new drugs over the past decade and is currently evaluating more than 20 drugs in early clinical trials.

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