Kazakhstan’s Breakthrough Cancer Drug Advances to Major Clinical Trial Phase in 2026

Kazakhstan is taking a major step forward in cancer treatment as Nazarbayev University Professor Dos Sarbassov announced that the country’s homegrown anti-cancer drug will enter a critical new phase of clinical trials in 2026.

This next phase aims to prove the drug’s effectiveness against KRAS-mutant tumors, considered among the most aggressive and treatment-resistant cancer types, The Caspian Post informs via Kazakh media.

Following strong preclinical results, regulators have approved testing with a higher tolerated dose of the drug’s second component-an important milestone in combination therapy development.

In a significant shift, the drug will now be administered before standard chemotherapy, rather than after multiple rounds when patients are already weakened. Researchers expect this early-stage use to better reveal the drug’s impact on tumors, metastasis, and patient tolerance.

Professor Sarbassov called the decision a “strategic step to unlock the drug’s full therapeutic potential.”

Kazakhstan’s breakthrough treatment has already passed initial testing stages successfully, marking a major achievement for the country’s biomedical sector.