College of Pharmacy’s First Fulbright Scholar Innovates Cancer Treatment Through Synthetic Chemistry

Michio Kurosu, PhD, has received a Fulbright scholarship for his work in synthetic chemistry that has included developing an innovative drug to target cancer.

During his postdoctoral studies at Harvard University, Michio Kurosu, PhD, was deeply inspired by his mentor, Yoshito Kishi, PhD, a former chemistry professor and a pioneer of organic synthesis, who passed away in 2023.

Dr. Kishi's groundbreaking work with complex compounds has significantly advanced the field of medicinal chemistry. "Dr. Kishi taught me how synthetic chemistry can contribute to drug discovery," Dr. Kurosu says. "In synthesis, we want to achieve the natural product as efficiently as possible. It's not just isolating a molecule from a natural resource or synthesizing a small molecule; instead, it requires innovative approaches that have never been attempted. This has inspired my research code."

Dr. Kurosu, professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy and affiliate faculty member in the Center for Cancer Research, is continuing his mentor's legacy as a leading expert in synthetic chemistry. He recently received the prestigious honor of being named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar for Egypt for the 2025-26 academic year, highlighting his exceptional contributions to the field and the global recognition of his work. He is the seventh faculty member from UT Health Science Center and the first from the College of Pharmacy to earn a Fulbright scholarship. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government's top international exchange initiative, offering students and scholars in more than 160 countries the chance to study, teach, conduct research, share ideas, and build understanding across cultures worldwide.

The Art and Science of Synthetic Chemistry

At first glance, there is something magical about synthetic chemistry, or the science of creating new chemicals and enhancing the production of existing ones. It involves carefully designing reactions to construct complex molecules with specific properties and synthesizing chemical compounds from simpler substances through chemical reactions. In other words, synthetic chemists invent new complex compounds from scratch to develop life-saving pharmaceuticals. The field combines creativity and precision to address some of the most pressing health challenges of our time.

ANV221 is one such compound created by synthetic chemistry that has garnered significant attention. Invented by Dr. Kurosu, the compound blocks an enzyme called DPAGT1 and is a promising anti-cancer drug candidate, utilizing a novel approach that could open new and exciting possibilities in cancer treatment.

ANV221 is a small molecule inhibitor, which was developed from a complex antibiotic isolated initially by a pharmaceutical company, intended as an antibacterial agent against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The product was acquired by Pfizer and proved effective at combating MRSA. Still, the product was abandoned for reasons unknown to Dr. Kurosu. In 2021, California pharmaceutical company Anviron and UT Health Science Center agreed to develop and bring ANV221 to patients. That year, the compound received FDA Orphan Drug designation for pancreatic cancer.

ANV221: Understanding Its Function and Significance

Researchers are continually seeking more effective and less harmful treatments for cancer. A major challenge in creating cancer treatments is making sure they specifically target cancer cells without harming healthy, normal cells. Many existing treatments struggle with this issue because the medicines designed to attack cancer often also cause damage to healthy tissues, resulting in unwanted side effects. When Dr. Kurosu began studying and synthesizing this compound, he found something exciting.

"We learned that this compound shows toxicity in cancer cells," he says. "However, it doesn't show toxicity in normal cells, so we wanted to figure out what was going on."

Dr. Kurosu's lab specializes in combining advanced chemical synthesis with biological screening to design small molecules effective against drug-resistant pathogens and selective cancer targets.

ANV221 works by inhibiting DPAGT1, a crucial enzyme in the N-glycan synthesis process, also known as N-glycosylation. This natural process helps proteins fold correctly, move to their correct locations, and send signals, which is crucial for proteins to function correctly. Some compounds can block this process, preventing the protein from folding correctly, which may impair the cancer cells' ability to grow.

Until his approach with ANV221, DPAGT1 inhibitors have never been proven to be a target for cancer drugs, Dr. Kurosu says. A compound that inhibits or destroys cancer cells without affecting normal cells may seem surreal, but according to Dr. Kurosu's research, this is occurring. Dr. Kurosu explains that while normal cells also need N-glycosylation, cancer cells require it much more heavily, making them more sensitive to the compound. Dr. Kurosu notes that these ideas are still under investigation and not yet widely accepted. However, he has spent the last several years researching and testing to validate his ideas.

"Inhibiting N-glycan counts on cancer cells is a significant advantage," he says. "Our compound specifically targets to end N-glycan synthesis in cancers. Since cancer cells grow aggressively, N-glycan synthesis is very aggressive compared to that of a normal cell. Whereas DPAGT1 expression is generally tightly regulated and not readily suppressed by inhibitors, several solid cancers display marked susceptibility to DPAGT1 inhibition. During the time of migration, cancer cells increase the expression of N-glycan-associated proteins. That's what we target them. This compound targets specifically the glycans associated with cancer. When N-glycans are inhibited, many cancer cells begin to undergo apoptosis, meaning they die on their own, or cause anti-metastasis, halting their migration. So, the cancer cells remain there, and they start to shrink. This is what we are targeting."

Dr. Kurosu's experimental results in cell lines and animal models have shown promising success, inducing apoptosis and inhibiting metastasis in cancer cells with minimal side effects.

Where is ANV221 in 2025?

In vivo studies show ANV221 effectively shrinks tumors and prevents metastases, outperforming standard treatments for pancreatic, breast, gastric, and cervical cancers. While Dr. Kurosu invented the compound, it is being developed in collaboration with faculty members in the UT Health Science Center College of Medicine, including Evan Glaser, MD, PhD, and Ramesh Narayanan, PhD, as well as Bil Clemons, PhD, of the California Institute of Technology.

The partnership with UT Health Science Center and Anviron is growing, with the company investing in UT Health Science Center labs led by Dr. Kurosu and College of Medicine faculty members, Drs. Glaser and Narayanan. These labs validated and expanded the uses of ANV221 to treat certain types of drug-resistant breast cancers, with plans for a phase 1 trial in 2026.

Bradley Morrison, CEO of Anviron, says, "This successful public/private collaboration in the development of ANV221 not only validates UT Health Science Center's role as a world-class research institution but also their growing importance in translational medicine. Our important work continues. We are extremely pleased with our investments in UT Health Science Center's amazing teams."