@katehanni and @eku, I see you have questions about the much publicized scientific breakthrough made at the University of Illinois, which was subsequently licensed by Bayer Pharmaceuticals in 2020. Early studies in mice seemed to show remarkable promise that led Bayer to invest $25 million exclusive global license agreement. Unfortunately, further trials in mice demonstrated that the promise was premature.

In a statement Bayer wrote in part: “Following a thorough assessment of ERSO in preclinical studies, Bayer has decided to discontinue development activities of this program for scientific reasons… we must take prudent steps to ensure the compounds have the potential to provide the therapeutic benefits we are striving to achieve for patients with cancer.”

Is is gut-wrenching when the media gives such hype to promising research discoveries in their very early stages. It can take 12 to 21 years for a drug to go from promise in test tubes to mice to humans to accepted new treatment. Many, many test tub (in vitro) and mice (in vivo) studies never make it to human trials.

I'm afraid that ErSO is one of those instances. The hope out of the hype is that the research has led to new approaches to study. You can read more here:
- Breakthrough metastatic breast cancer treatment hits snag https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/breakthrough-metastatic-breast-cancer-treatment-hits-snag