Iranian researcher secures Canadian patent for novel anti-cancer drug

Pars Today – Dr. Hadi Zare Zardini, a faculty member at Meybod University in Iran's Yazd Province, has secured an international patent in Canada for an anti-cancer drug developed from peptides extracted from pistachios.

According to Pars Today, citing IRIB News, Dr. Zare Zardini, a faculty member of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Meybod University, developed the anti-cancer drug by extracting anti-cancer peptides from pistachios and encapsulating them in soy protein nanoparticles, leading to the successful registration of the invention in Canada.

The patented innovation involves the isolation of two novel bioactive peptides from pistachio protein hydrolysates. The peptides were named after Zardin, a village in Iran's Yazd Province. Laboratory studies confirmed their anti-cancer properties. After extraction, the peptides were encapsulated in soy protein nanoparticle capsules to improve their stability, solubility, and targeted delivery to cancer cells.

According to the report, the drug significantly inhibited tumor growth and demonstrated potential as an effective treatment for cancer.

The internationally patented drug offers a novel approach to cancer treatment, and it is expected that therapies based on these peptides will enter mass production in the near future and become effective treatment options for cancer patients in healthcare markets around the world.

The development of the drug and its international patent registration were carried out under the International Memorandum of Understanding on Joint Scientific and Research Cooperation between Meybod University and Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Slovakia. The agreement was signed in January last year by Dr. Abbas Niknejad, President of Meybod University, and Dr. Andrej Zenka, a representative of the Slovak university. The project was funded and conducted in scientific collaboration with researchers from the European institution.

According to the report, in recent years Meybod University has been pursuing internationalization by signing joint cooperation agreements with leading universities around the world, carrying out collaborative international research projects with prominent scholars, completing all stages of international student recruitment, and actively participating in global university ranking systems, where it has earned notable positions.