A new lab-made drug slowed glioblastoma tumors in animals
Original title: A novel NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1-responsive vascular endothelial growth factor-targeted antibody-drug conjugate induces dual apoptosis and ferroptosis in glioblastoma.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done in animals, not people. Most findings at this stage never become treatments.
This was only done in cells and in animals, not in people.
The short version
Scientists built a new tumor-targeting drug that killed glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells in the lab and slowed tumors in animals.
What was studied. Researchers made a new drug called NRBM-25. It links an antibody to a cell-killing payload. The link only breaks apart when it meets an enzyme called NQO1, which is high in some tumor cells. They tested it on cells in the lab and in animals with tumors.
What they found. NRBM-25 killed glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells that had high levels of the NQO1 enzyme. It left normal cells with low NQO1 alone. In animals, it slowed tumor growth and the animals lived longer. The researchers report little harm to the rest of the body. At medium and high doses it worked better than the standard chemotherapy drug temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This is an early sign that targeting the NQO1 enzyme might let a drug hit tumor cells while sparing healthy ones. It is a research idea that scientists may keep testing. It is not something a doctor can give you.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean there is a new treatment for glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary. The work was done in cells and in animals only. No people were treated. Many drugs that work in animals do not work in people. This is not a promise of a cure, and it is many years and many trials away from everyday care, if it ever gets there.
Source: PubMed, June 23, 2026 · Read the original
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