Scientists from Polytechnic University have created a drug they say can treat liver cancer and prolong a sufferer’s life for several months without killing normal cells.Hailed Monday as the ``first drug created in Hong Kong,’' it took a three-member research team three years to develop at a cost of around HK$30 million.The new drug, created by Thomas Leung, Thomas Lo and Paul Cheng, may lengthen the average life expectancy of liver cancer patients to 10 months from six now, Leung said.Clinical trials of the drug, called BCT-100, after a company that funded the project, will begin by the end of this month.University president Poon Chung-kwong said the drug marks a cornerstone for the development of bio-chemistry in Hong Kong.
