There are new lines of anti-cancer therapies in the pipeline, the one discussed in this article “tags” a mutant KRAS protein for removal. Others (not mentioned here) involve targeting another protein, without which the mutant KRAS gene becomes a lethal and the cell dies (“Synthetic Lethality”).
These potential new therapies were already in development before the recent NIH funding cuts.
Mutations in a protein called KRAS fuel some of the most lethal cancers. Designing drugs to disable KRAS has proved challenging — but this year, a field accustomed to disappointment has renewed hope. The first clinical trial of a drug that targets one form of mutant KRAS for degradation has shown signs of success1. And four large clinical trials are testing another drug that inhibits several different mutant forms of KRAS and related proteins. The first of those studies is expected to report results in the next few months.