VSU researching aquatic organism with medical benefits

VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - Valdosta State University is working with an aquatic organism they believe could pave the way for cancer and Alzheimer’s treatment.

The organism is called a Bryozoan.

“It’s very eye-opening, I feel like it’s one tiny little creature but has a huge impact on a lot of different things,” Amber Holley, a VSU student and researcher, said.

This sea creature helps make an experimental drug called Bryostatin. It shows to be beneficial to people with cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

During the research, the organisms attached themselves to wood and began to grow.

”So these sea creatures they produce or they make a chemical defense and by that we mean it’s a way to protect itself like a cactus has thorns, so the Bryozoan produces the bryostatin and it protects itself using that so we want to use that bryostatin as a defense for ourselves,” said Holley.

Researchers scraped the Bryozoans off the wood.

Once they have enough for a good sample, they extract Bryostatin from it.

Professor of Chemistry Thomas Manning calls this research pharmaceutical aquaculture. It’s been in the works for about 20 years.

“Bryozstatin is an experimental drug, people have known about it for about 50 years, but it’s very difficult to make. So right now if you would try to buy it, it would be about $17 million per gram, U.S. dollars, so we are working on a cheaper way to make it,” said Manning.

The university sends the tube samples to different companies and labs that can run tests and perform clinical trials.

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