Olomouc, North Moravia, July 23 (CTK) – Czech scientists from the Hana Region Centre for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research (CRH) have discovered a new group of substances with a strong anti-tumour effect, CRH scientist Karel Dolezal told journalists yesterday.
The group is derived from the cytokinin plant growth substances, Dolezal said.
The new substances were recently given a U.S. patent, which opens their way towards gaining an investor and subsequent development of a new drug against cancer, he added.
The scientists were able to not only find a new group of substances in the plants, but also to produce them artificially, Dolezal said.
“The U.S. patent protects both the structure of the substances and the methods of their preparation and biological activity,” he added.
“These are the cytokinin nucleotides that have a large array of anti-tumour effects,” Dolezal said.
“Gaining the U.S. patent is a very important thing. The whole procedure lasted roughly five years. It was costly and we had to submit much evidence to the U.S. patent office,” Lucie Plihalova, from the CRH, said.
Opened in 2012, the CRH employs dozens of researchers from 12 countries.
The investment costs of its establishment were covered by EU subsidies and the state budget.
The project was launched with the participation of Palacky University in Olomouc, the Institute of Experimental Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and the Crop Research Institute.
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