Small Molecule Drug Development for Breast Cancer

Targeted therapies offer advantages over conventional therapies in terms of selectivity, efficacy and tolerability. Small molecule drugs are a key component of the major targeted therapies used in the treatment of cancer. Alfa Cytology specializes in the development of customized small molecule drugs specifically for breast cancer.

Introduction of Small Molecule Drug

Small molecule drugs can penetrate cell membranes to target intracellular proteins, and their stability and oral characteristics allow for direct and efficient drug delivery to patients. Compared with biological products, small molecule drugs' pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties are more predictable, so the corresponding drug treatment regimen is more straightforward. Small molecule drugs play an essential role in breast cancer (BC) therapy.

Fig.1 Molecular subtypes of breast cancer and types of triple-negative breast cancer. (Islam MR, et al., 2022)

Small Molecule Drug Development for Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, with various subtypes characterized by distinct genetic and molecular profiles. This diversity necessitates a tailored approach to drug development, where small molecules can be designed to target specific oncogenic pathways. For instance, inhibitors of the estrogen receptor (ER), such as tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors, have become standard treatments for ER-positive breast cancer, significantly improving survival rates.

Our Services

Alfa Cytology can provide you with BC small molecule drug development services. Our services include:

• Discovery and verification of BC drug targets
  The main pathways for drug target discovery are:

  Discover drug targets starting from effective monomeric compounds

  Discover targets through quantitative analysis and comparative studies of protein expression profile changes in normal and disease states

  Discover targets based on gene expression differences between normal and pathological tissues

  Discover drug targets based on protein interactions

  Apply RNA interference technology to specifically inhibit the expression of different genes in cells, and discover targets through changes in cell phenotype

• Verification of hits and lead compounds
  We mainly obtain leads to compounds by the following methods:

  Method	Description
  Virtual high-throughput screening	Using the mighty computing power of the computer, using the three-dimensional pharmacophore model or the method of molecular docking, it is a method to search for possible active compounds in the compound database.
  DNA-encoded small molecule compound library synthesis and screening technology	Utilizing the method of combinatorial chemistry and the diversity and expandability of DNA coding, it can quickly provide lead compounds for the early decisive stage of drug development, thereby speeding up the development process of new drugs.

• BC drug pharmacology and toxicology evaluation
  We can provide you with comprehensive pharmacology and toxicology tests of BC drugs, including non-clinical tests of drug efficacy, safety pharmacology tests, single-dose toxicity tests, repeated-dose toxicity tests, genetic toxicity tests, reproductive toxicity tests, carcinogenicity tests, etc.
• BC drug production process, quality control, and stability research
  Our services include the synthesis process of raw materials, the quality research of raw materials, the stability research of raw materials, the research of preparations, the research of excipients, the stability research of preparations, etc.

Advantages of Small Molecule Drugs

Alfa Cytology is driven by R&D and innovation, focusing on the development of small-molecule drugs. Our team is composed of highly educated and high-quality professionals with good professional backgrounds and experience in BC research. We have a complete set of technologies including small molecule screening, synthesis, drug analysis, stability research, and preparation development. If you are interested in learning more about our BC therapy development services, please feel free to contact us. Our professional and patient staff will get in touch with you as soon as possible.