Cancer Cell Biology and Drug Discovery

The Cancer Cell Biology and Drug Discovery Group

The number of cancer caused deaths in the world is expected to rise from about 9M in 2015 to 15M in the next 20 years. Novel therapeutic approaches against cancer are therefore urgently needed.

Our research is focused on the oncogene RAS, which is a major driver of tumorigenesis. For 30 years, researchers have tried to develop drugs against RAS. Only recently direct inhibitors against RAS (KRAS-G12C covalent inhibitors) were developed and first results from their clinical evaluation look encouraging.

However, diverse approaches against aberrantly active RAS in cancer are required. We exploit our insights into the promotion of cancer cell stemness by RAS to develop new drugs.

Depending on the targeted molecular mechanism, we derive biomarkers (gene expression, mutation etc.) that can help to select responding patient and treat patients in a personalized manner in the future.