Hope for treatment-resistant cancer: US varsity’s antibody breakthrough earns praise from Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

A groundbreaking study from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine has unveiled a new antibody optimization strategy that could transform how doctors treat drug-resistant cancers — and Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is among those applauding the breakthrough. 

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Shaw wrote, “In a breakthrough from UC San Diego School of Medicine, researchers have developed an antibody optimisation mechanism that could help tackle treatment-resistant tumours. It can potentially boost current immunotherapies & offer new hope for patients.” 

Shaw’s post was in reference to a recently published study in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, led by Dr. Hiromi I. Wettersten, Assistant Professor of Pathology at UC San Diego and member of the Moores Cancer Center. 

Turning tumor’s own immune landscape  

Many advanced cancers — including lung, pancreatic, and prostate tumors — become resistant to standard treatments, often due to a protein called integrin αvβ3, which is highly expressed in aggressive cancers but absent in normal tissues. 

Past attempts to target αvβ3 relied on activating natural killer (NK) cells, but these strategies largely failed because the tumors lacked sufficient NK cells to mount an effective response. 

The UC San Diego team took a different route. Instead of depending on NK cells, they engineered an anti-αvβ3 antibody that activates macrophages — immune cells that are abundant within advanced tumors. The result was a strong anti-tumor response both in patient-derived samples and mouse models. 

Key findings from the study 

• The new antibody killed cancer cells more effectively than older versions, significantly reducing tumor growth. 

• It reprogrammed macrophages to attack tumors by increasing inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), a key enzyme that helps destroy cancer cells. 

• The treatment’s success depended entirely on macrophages; removing them nullified the therapy’s effect, while NK cell depletion had no impact. 

Because integrin αvβ3 is absent in healthy tissue, the therapy is highly selective and may avoid the side effects typical of many cancer treatments. 

Blueprint for future cancer therapies 

The study’s authors believe this antibody optimisation approach could serve as a blueprint for designing new immunotherapies that are tailored to the immune environment of each tumour type. 

“This strategy could dramatically improve outcomes for patients with aggressive, drug-resistant cancers,” the researchers noted, adding that it may enhance a wide range of existing immunotherapy treatments. 

The research was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, Alpha Beta Therapeutics, the San Diego Digestive Diseases Research Center, and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. 

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw’s recognition of the UC San Diego breakthrough aligns with her long-standing advocacy for innovation in biopharmaceutical research and accessible cancer treatment. Under her leadership, Biocon Limited has been a pioneer in biosimilars and affordable biologics, including therapies targeting cancer and autoimmune diseases. 

Her endorsement of such global research underscores the synergy between academic science and biotech industry leadership — a collaboration increasingly crucial in the fight against complex diseases like cancer.