Novogen Limited (ASX: NRT) (NASDAQ: NVGN) announced yesterday that it has successfully isolated the most potent form of CS-6.

CS-6 belongs to a new class of drug candidates intended to treat most types of cancer in a complete way by targeting both the cancer and cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells are typically resistant to the more common forms of cancer treatment, including radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and are commonly believed to be responsible for cancer reoccurrence.

CS-6 is a chiral molecule, meaning it can exist in both left and right-hand forms called enantiomers. Enantiomers often differ in their biological activity making one weaker or stronger than the other. The company has recently undertaken purification and manufacturing of pure left- and right-hand forms and has screened the compound in vitro for activity against brain cancer cells. In the report released today, analysis of this data shows that one CS-6 enantiomer is approximately 200 times more active than the other type of CS-6 against all brain cancer cell lines tested.

Novogen Chief Scientific Officer Dr Andrew Heaton said:

"the ability to manufacture CS-6 in both left- and right-hand forms represents a significant milestone in the development of this compound. The indication that one form of CS-6 is active at nanomolar concentrations against a broad spectrum of brain cancer lines is exciting and indicates that the earlier potencies we have seen against cancer cells and cancer stem cells are likely to be even greater with the purified enantiomer. We are now positioned to rapidly progress CS-6 to the clinic."

This is a major breakthrough for the company and investors have realised the importance of it by sending the share price up 54% at one stage during trading yesterday.

Foolish takeaway

In similar news, Allied Healthcare Group Limited (ASX: AHZ) has also just announced that it plans to extend the number of Australian surgeons who are actively using pre-market authorisation of CardioCel for heart conditions such as Congenital heart disease (CHD). Six days ago the company also lodged a 510(k) submission with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to gain marketing approval. CHD is the leading cause of infant death globally and affects six children born in Australia every day and over 40,000 born each year in the US.

Savvy investors are now seeking growth in smaller companies. Discover two stellar small-cap opportunities now, in our brand-new research report, "2 Small Cap Superstars" — simply click here to download your FREE copy.

More reading

• Abbott: Medibank Private to go under the hammer
• Happy Birds at Rovio

The Motley Fool's purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson. Motley Fool contributor Owen Raszkiewicz does not own shares in any of the mentioned companies.

The post Novogen makes cancer breakthrough appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 little-known ASX shares that could make big returns
• Why this ASX dividend share is a retiree's dream
• Why I think CBA shares are a top buy with $5,000
• 3 ASX blue chips I'd buy for a $250,000 retirement portfolio
• The ASX 200 shares I think smart investors are buying after the tech selloff