Revolutionizing
cancer treatment
Qurgen’s breakthrough world-first transcription factor protein drug uses a proprietary protein delivery system to reprogram diseased cells into healthy tissue, targeting tumors without the toxicity of chemotherapy or radiation. The innovation has generated buzz for its clinical promise and earned international recognition: In 2025, Qurgen was named one of the world’s top 10 innovative biotech startups by Med Health Review.
“We invented a brand-new cancer therapy,” said Dr. JianJun Wang, co-founder and professor of biochemistry at Wayne State’s School of Medicine. “We call it a cell-converting cancer therapy instead of a cell-killing therapy.”
A cure that converts
Qurgen’s method doesn’t destroy; it transforms. Its world-first transcription factor drug, SON-DP — an acronym of the transcription factors Sox2, Oct4 and Nanog — employs a protein delivery system developed at Wayne State.
Precision is the key. Previous technology could only reprogram cells in vitro in a petri dish, but Qurgen’s “QQ protein delivery technology” delivers proteins not only into the cells in vivo, by injection, but specifically to the nucleus, targeted to the diseased tissue without harming normal healthy tissue or causing the complications that might come with traditional therapies.
Unlike the targeted therapy drugs that only target one or few cellular signaling pathways, transcription factors can regulate hundreds. “It can convert bad guys into potentially good guys,” said Wang.
This groundbreaking approach earned Qurgen the distinction of being the first-ever transcription factor drug to enter human cancer trials. “If you go to clinicaltrials.gov and search for transcription factor, our drug is the only one,” said Wang.
From lab discovery to clinical development
By 2016, Qurgen had raised $4 million, securing lab and meeting space in TechTown Detroit, Wayne State’s small-business and entrepreneurial hub. The organization has since raised more than $55 million to support clinical and preclinical pipelines.
In December 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Qurgen’s first Phase I clinical trial of SON-DP for cancer indication. By July 2023, patients had engaged five major cancer centers in the United States: MD Anderson (in Texas and Phoenix), Henry Ford Hospital (Detroit), the University of Oklahoma’s Stephenson Cancer Center, and a private hospital in North Carolina.
Qurgen’s ultimate ambitions extend beyond oncology. The same cell-converting platform is being adapted in preclinical programs targeting heart disease, diabetes, eye diseases and anti-aging. It’s a testament to the versatility of this approach that a single delivery system can potentially reset diseased cells across multiple organ systems using different transcription factor drugs.
Real patients, real results
“We have almost 29 patients now,” Wang reported. “At low-dose levels, we have already observed patients with incredible responses.”
One patient, a 77‑year‑old female with advanced lung cancer, became entirely cancer-free after treatment — and remained so three and a half months later. Similarly, a late-stage metastatic melanoma patient experienced dramatic tumor reduction.
“Her big tumor inside the peritoneum was like a large egg,” said Wang. “After six months of treatment, the tumor shrank to a peanut size.”
A third late-stage gastral cancer patient also displayed remission of bone metastases and peritoneal omental metastasis recently and will hopefully see complete tumor remission soon, said Wang.
Qurgen’s therapy also appears to repair the somatic mutations of cancer-driving genes with tumor tissues and in ctDNA of the patient blood samples. “For one melanoma patient, we found a cancer driver gene mutation. After nearly eight months of SON-DP treatment, the mutation was completely gone from the blood,” Wang said. “In our trial, we have already had two cancer driver mutations corrected after SON-DP treatment.” A third cancer driver gene is KRAS — a notoriously aggressive mutation of several different cancer types — and early data shows a 55% mutational reduction in blood after six months of SON-DP treatment.
A vision for change
“My dream is to put this drug — if demonstrated after clinical trial — into the market, so those late-stage cancer patients will benefit,” Wang shared. “We do a lot of research at the university, but sometimes it’s really far from the clinic. If I can invent a brand‑new cancer therapy that really helps human beings fight cancer, I did not come here for nothing.”
Wayne State remains closely involved with Qurgen. “We keep a good relationship because the university is our licensor and shareholder,” Wang said. “We have quarterly meetings with the tech transfer office to keep them updated. They’ve been very supportive.”
Named a top‑10 biotech startup, backed by more than $55 million in funding, and generating life‑saving clinical outcomes, Qurgen is more than a moonshot. It represents a paradigm shift in medicine.
“This is the time for change,” Wang said. “We’ve been doing cancer therapy the same way for a hundred years. But we know it’s not working for a lot of late‑stage patients. It’s time for something new.”
Bringing Wayne State’s discoveries to the world
“Our technology commercialization team is critical for fostering the important discoveries of our faculty that ultimately impact the innovation ecosystem,” said Dr. Ezemenari M. Obasi, Wayne State’s vice president for research & innovation. “With Taunya’s leadership, we are transforming groundbreaking research into solutions that will benefit society and drive Michigan’s competitiveness in the global marketplace.”
Companies like Qurgen, Functional Fluidics and other Wayne State startups are examples of research that stems from university laboratories and can impact lives through life-changing techniques and therapies.
“Our staff are the vital bridge between university research and real-world impact, by transforming innovation into solutions that shape industries, improve lives, create jobs, deliver tangible benefits to society and ultimately drive economic growth,” said Phillips. “Without university research and technology commercialization efforts, groundbreaking ideas risk remaining unused and their potential unrealized.”
OTC’s approach leverages insights from faculty disclosures, research areas, grant submissions, awards and publication highlights to identify opportunities for impactful commercialization. OTC participates in college and departmental meetings, seminars, symposia and presentations to improve understanding of the commercialization process.
To learn more about Wayne State’s technology commercialization efforts, visit techtransfer.wayne.edu. To partner with Wayne State, visit open.wayne.edu.
Pioneering cancer care in Detroit
As a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Karmanos — part of McLaren Health Care and a household name with 16 centers in Michigan and Ohio — combines the academic expertise of Wayne State’s School of Medicine with clinical innovation to improve cancer outcomes locally and globally. “We’re all faculty at Wayne State University,” said Dr. Anthony Shields, medical oncologist, researcher, associate center director of clinical sciences at Karmanos and professor in the oncology department at the School of Medicine. “We take care of our patients at the Karmanos Cancer Institute, but the research is done under the oversight of Wayne State University.”
Established in 1943, Karmanos is one of just 57 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States — and one of the first named after a woman. With a legacy rooted in leading-edge research and compassionate care, Karmanos has grown into a nationally recognized leader in cancer treatment. In 2014, it joined forces with McLaren Health Care, strengthening its reach and resources across Michigan while preserving its focus on academic excellence and innovation. Today, it houses one of the region’s most robust clinical trials programs.
“We have a range of trials, from drugs that are being used for the very first time in a human, to drugs that have been around for a long time and potentially being combined in new ways,” said Shields. “We apply the drugs across many tumor types.”
That range is bolstered by powerful diagnostics and a personalized approach. “More and more, the genetic changes in the cancer are key,” Shields said. “Anybody that walks through my door that has advanced cancer, I run a panel of genetic tests. We look at the abnormalities in 23,000 different genes.”
One of the most promising areas of research is immunotherapy. “We gave a new immunotherapy drug to a woman with widespread metastatic liver cancer,” Shields said. “She comes in now for a once-a-year checkup; she hasn’t been on any therapy for 10 years.”
Karmanos’ commitment to personalized, research-driven care is deeply aligned with Wayne State’s public mission, and being in Detroit allows its researchers to understand and address the challenges posed by health disparities in the region.
“To lead an organization that delivers world-class clinical care while driving groundbreaking discoveries in cancer research is both an amazing opportunity and a tremendous responsibility,” said Dr. Boris Pasche, president and chief executive officer at Karmanos and chair of the Department of Oncology at the School of Medicine. “Together, at Karmanos and Wayne State, we are translating discoveries from the laboratory into innovative therapies at the bedside, bringing new hope to patients and families in the fight against this devastating disease.”
For Shields, the motivation remains personal — do everything he can to treat his patients and get them on the path to a healthier life.
“We have patients who come in for a second opinion after being told they don’t have any more options for treatment. I often get to tell patients, ‘Well, I see three or four options right here,’” he said. “That’s why I’m still working on this. It is just so exciting to see these new treatments and to see some of these patients doing well.”