Head of Research & Development · ORCID 0000-0001-7860-3002
Patrícia Bezerra, PhD
The scientist who made 3-NAntC small enough to matter
Biotechnology scientist directing discovery and the PHP53-nb preclinical package. First author of the 2024 Molecules paper on 3-NAntC and a named inventor on PHP Biotech’s bioactive-peptide patent family.
From Bezerra & Motti, Molecules 2024 · PMID 38611925
Key findings on 3-NAntC
Figures below are taken from the open-access paper, not from unpublished PHP53-nb packages. They describe the peptide, not the full nanobody construct.
49%
MDA-MB-231 viability after 3-NAntC, 1 µg/mL, 72 h
98%
HMEC (benign) viability under the same conditions
G2/M
cell-cycle arrest reported in the 2024 paper
75 mg/mL
zebrafish dose with no lethality in that study
A career aimed at breast-cancer cells, not abstracts
Before PHP53-nb had a name, Bezerra was already asking how venom-derived peptides kill breast-cancer cells without taking the rest of the organism with them. BthTX-I in 2019. Genistein plus aromatase inhibitors in 2023. Resveratrol combinations in 2024. Then 3-NAntC: a Crotoxin B fragment small enough to keep the antitumor effect and leave most of the toxicity behind.
What Head of R&D means on this program
She designs the experiments, coordinates CROs, owns characterization of the peptide, and is a named inventor on the company’s bioactive-peptide PCT. The nanobody is the delivery idea. The peptide is her problem. PHP53-nb is the marriage of the two.
A biotechnology career aimed at breast cancer
Dr. Patrícia Bezerra is PHP Biotech’s Scientific Leader and Head of Research & Development, directing discovery and preclinical science. She is a biotechnology scientist with roughly eight years of dedicated cancer research, with a particular focus on breast cancer.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from the Federal University of Alfenas (UNIFAL-MG) and was a fellow of Brazil’s Science Without Borders Program (2013–2014), training at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the Florida Institute of Technology and interning at Rinat–Pfizer in South San Francisco. She later contributed to therapies and diagnostics for cancer and tuberculosis at Veritas Biotecnologia.
Dr. Bezerra earned her PhD from the University of São Paulo, with doctoral research also at the University of Porto, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at USP. As Head of R&D she drives experimental design, CRO coordination, characterization of the 3-NAntC peptide, and the data package behind PHP53-nb and GEN01-AD. Her peer-reviewed work on 3-NAntC, genistein–aromatase inhibitor combinations, resveratrol co-treatment, and BthTX-I in breast-cancer models is indexed on PubMed.
Independent indexes
Bibliography and appointments
Everything below is meant to be checked. Empty categories are omitted rather than padded.
Appointments and training
- B.Sc. Biotechnology, Federal University of Alfenas (UNIFAL-MG)
- Science Without Borders: University of Nebraska at Kearney; Florida Institute of Technology; internship at Rinat–Pfizer, South San Francisco (2013–2014)
- Ph.D., University of São Paulo, with research at the University of Porto
- Postdoctoral fellowship, University of São Paulo
- PHP Biotech International Inc. (Head of Research & Development)
- University of São Paulo (doctoral and postdoctoral training)
- University of Porto (doctoral research)
Awards and memberships
- Science Without Borders Program fellow, 2013–2014
Independently indexed publications
Indexed on PubMed, Crossref, or Google Patents. Internal, unpublished data is not listed as peer-reviewed work.
Peer-reviewed · 2024
3-NAntC: A Potent Crotoxin B-Derived Peptide against the Triple-Negative MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cell Line
Bezerra P, Motti EF
Molecules. 2024;29(7):1646
doi:10.3390/molecules29071646PMID 38611925
First author. Open access (PMC11013444). Company-funded.
Peer-reviewed · 2024
Antitumor effects of co-treatment of resveratrol with antitumor drugs in ER- and HER2-positive breast cancer cells are due to induction of apoptosis and modulation of estrogen receptor expression
Franceschi BT, Bezerra PHA, Torqueti MR
Breast Cancer. 2024
Peer-reviewed · 2023
In Vitro Effects of Combining Genistein with Aromatase Inhibitors: Concerns Regarding Its Consumption during Breast Cancer Treatment
Bezerra PHA, Amaral C, Almeida CF, Correia-da-Silva G, Torqueti MR, Teixeira N
Molecules. 2023;28(13):4893
doi:10.3390/molecules28134893PMID 37446555
First author. Work from USP / University of Porto collaboration.
Peer-reviewed · 2019
BthTX-I from Bothrops jararacussu induces apoptosis in human breast cancer cell lines and decreases cancer stem cell subpopulation
Bezerra PHA, Ferreira IM, Franceschi BT, Bianchini F, Ambrosio L, Cintra ACO, Sampaio SV, Castro FA, Torqueti MR
J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis. 2019;25:e20190010
doi:10.1590/1678-9199-JVATITD-2019-0010PMID 31384244
First author. Open access (PMC6665320).
Peer-reviewed · 2022
Soybean extract modified by Aspergillus awamori stimulates a greater collagen-I synthesis in the intracellular matrix of human fibroblasts
Bezerra PHA et al.
J Cosmet Dermatol. 2022;21(3):1243-1250
doi:10.1111/jocd.14208PMID 33969632
First author. Indexed against ORCID 0000-0001-7860-3002.
Patents
Indexed on PubMed, Crossref, or Google Patents. Internal, unpublished data is not listed as peer-reviewed work.
Patent · 2023
Bioactive peptides, compositions, production process, and use of bioactive peptides as anti-tumor agents
Bighetti MR, Bezerra PHA
WO2023220553A2 (PCT/US2023/066685); applicant PHP Biotech International Inc.
Named inventor. Non-toxic bioactive snake-venom peptide for aggressive solid tumors.