The National Cancer Institute and Natural Product-Based Drug Discovery in Africa

In the experience of the US National Cancer Institute, African biodiversity has been the source of several promising anticancer drugs. Analogues of the combretastatins are in advanced clinical trials, while conjugates of maytansine analogues with trastuzumab are showing great promise in the treatment of HER2-positive forms of breast cancer which have proved resistant to treatment with trastuzumab and lapatinib. Since 1987, the NCI, through contracts with Missouri Botanical Garden and Coral Reef Research Foundation, has undertaken plant and marine organism collections, respectively, in several African countries. In most instances, agreements based on the NCI Letter of Collection or Memorandum of Understanding were signed with the source-country authorities or qualified organizations, but in two cases where such agreements were not finalized, the necessary collection and export permits were obtained, and the NCI is totally committed to the terms of the LOC. The discovery of the anti-HIV-active compound michellamine B has emphasized the need for source countries to establish policies governing the exploration of their biological diversity for the discovery and development of novel bioactive molecules.