@tiffintech: This drug kills a cancer cell and turns that dead cell into a vaccine. Researchers at Peking University engineered a molecule that destroys PD-L1, the protein tumors use to hide from the immune system, while simultaneously tagging the cancer cell with a viral fragment your immune system already recognizes, turning it into a target for attack. It's biotech acting like programmable software: one molecule, two functions, triggered only inside the tumor. So far it's worked in mice and in lab-grown patient tumor tissue, not yet in human trials, but it's a glimpse of where smart delivery systems in medicine are headed. Sources: Han, Y., Ma, Y., Pei, M. et al. "Intratumoural vaccination via checkpoint degradation-coupled antigen presentation." Nature 650, 736–747 (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09903-1 C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News), "A targeted protein degrader that doubles as a cancer vaccine," January 2026. MedicalXpress, "From immune evasion to activation: A new cancer vaccine strategy," January 2026.

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Tuesday 25 August 2026 16:38:32 GMT