Potential Anti-Cancer Fungal Compound Synthesized After 55 Years
Cambridge, MA (Science Alert) — January 9, 2026: Scientists have achieved a major milestone in cancer research by successfully synthesizing verticillin A, a fungal compound first discovered more than 50 years ago and long believed to possess powerful cancer-fighting properties.
Key Developments
- Scientists have successfully synthesized the anti-cancer compound verticillin A for the first time after more than five decades.
- The breakthrough enables large-scale laboratory study of the compound, previously found only in trace amounts in fungi.
- Early lab tests show the synthesized compound effectively targets aggressive childhood brain cancer cells.
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Verticillin A naturally occurs in extremely small quantities within a microscopic fungus, making it nearly impossible to extract for large-scale study. Until now, its complex chemical structure and instability had prevented scientists from reproducing it in a laboratory setting.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Medical School have now overcome these challenges, allowing the compound to be produced on demand for the first time. The achievement opens new avenues for detailed scientific analysis and potential cancer drug development.
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According to MIT chemist Mohammad Movassaghi, the breakthrough came from refining earlier methods used to synthesize closely related compounds. Although those molecules differed from verticillin A by only a few atoms, the subtle differences significantly increased the difficulty of synthesis.
Verticillin A is a dimer molecule, formed by two identical halves fused together in a precise three-dimensional structure. To successfully build it, the research team altered the sequence of chemical reactions and protected fragile molecular bonds during the process. Their carefully timed, 16-step method ensured the correct structural formation.
Laboratory tests conducted on diffuse midline glioma (DMG) cells—an aggressive and often fatal childhood brain cancer—showed promising results. The synthetic compound, along with its variants, demonstrated the ability to kill cancer cells while effectively targeting specific proteins within them.
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Chemical biologist Jun Qi of Harvard Medical School emphasized that the achievement allows researchers to fully explore the compound’s therapeutic potential by combining expertise across chemistry, cancer biology, and patient care.
The findings have been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, marking a significant step forward in the use of natural compounds for modern drug discovery.
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