Barriers to scientific research constitute a major problem so complicated in Egypt that Dr. Mona Mahdi had to join the National Party for the sake of her invention.
Barriers to scientific research constitute a major problem so complicated in Egypt that Dr. Mona Mahdi had to join the National Party for the sake of her invention.
Mahdi has been struggling for 13 years to find a means to produce the cancer cure she invented but to no avail. She was confronted by bureaucracy and the poor financial support available for scientific research. After winning many awards in Japan for inventing a cure for cancer, which is registered in her PhD certificate, Mahdi returned to her university in Asyut, Egypt to realise her life dream of curing Egyptian cancer patients. She refused to disclose her invention in Japan despite the many temptations she was offered. However, back home she has been faced with bureaucracy and red tape and could not produce the medicine.
Dr. Mahdai, tell us about your cancer cure.
I worked on a new device based on Nano technology to produce a cure for cancer and AIDs. My PhD thesis was on preparing granules or very small cells to produce a cure for cancer.
It took me three years to come up with the composition which was tested on 3,000 rabbits in Tokyo University. The cure proved exceptionally effective and the recovery percentage exceeded 96 per cent. What distinguishes the new drug is that it has no side effects at all and does not harm the heart. It is a long-term drug. Patients have to take only a quarter of their normal doses; thus it saves materials.
The drug only targets the cancer cells and does not damage the healthy ones. It is injected directly into the cancer cells to kill them immediately and the body disposes of any leftovers naturally by digesting them.
How your cure is prepared from materials inside the human body?
It is prepared from a material called Albumin in the blood plasma and some other cancer-treatment materials, which target the center of the cancer cells by surrounding and killing them through a long-term dose.
Was your research published in international periodicals?
Yes, it was published in scientific journals in Japan, the USA, Turkey and others. Although I travelled to Japan on a two-year government grant, my research lasted for four years, which meant I stayed there for two more years at my own expense. Afterwards, I won many local and international awards and recognition, including an award for identifying and evaluating Nano-cells for curing different diseases and the Scientific Excellence Award from Asyut University. I was named among the world’s top 1,000 women in charity and human relationships. From Sweden, I received the Charities Award and the International Peace Award.
After returning from Japan and after ranking first among 3,000 research papers in Japan, how did Asyut University honor you?
Although I got a PhD for discovering a cure for cancer, the head of the pharmaceuticals department in Asyut University refused to recognize it in 2001 because, he said, I had not informed the Scholarships Administration that I extended my study in Japan to get a PhD. When I met the university’s rector in 2003 in a scientific conference in Alexandria, I explained the situation and he answered: “You will be appointed based on the PhD you earned in Japan.”
Why was your research not implemented in Egypt? What were the major obstacles you faced?
The related device is monopolized by a Japanese company called Weekly. The production of my drug is impossible without this device. When I returned to my university, I met the rector and told him the device cost $ 7 million, but he said: ‘It is impossible to spend the university’s entire budget on one single research project.’ Then I met the Minister of Education who said: ‘I will consider it.’
However, there was no response because obtaining the device required an agreement between the two governments of Egypt and Japan. Afterwards, I was distracted by private family circumstances. Both my husband and my brother passed away which affected me greatly and distanced me from thinking about my research.
Why has an agreement with the company that owns the device not yet been reached?
They offered me a contract which stipulated that I should stay in Japan for five years and that the product is marketed in the USA, Israel and Europe and will only reach Egypt after 20 years, as the company’s main target is profit. I rejected their offer and chose not to reveal my invention believing that when I return home, the Egyptian and Japanese governments would reach an agreement according to which they would give us the device in exchange of giving them the drug composition, but this has not happened due to red tape.
What is the link between joining the National Party in 2010 and producing your medicine?
Having exhausted all possibilities, I resorted to politics. I was asked to join the National Party and I did, and won in the elections. However, the January 25 Revolution erupted and stopped everything.
Did the Japanese try to produce the cure?
They attempted but failed and they have been asking me to return to Japan. I remember how in 1999 my Japanese PhD thesis supervisor said: ‘Do not give them the secret of your research,’ therefore, I kept the secret to benefit my country.
In your opinion, what is the difference between Egypt and Japan in terms of scientific research?
Egypt suffers from poor laboratory capabilities. In Japan, I used to ask for a specific raw material, and it would come the very next day. However, in Egypt I wait for three or four months to lay my hands on the material I want. According to a 2013 study published in a foreign magazine, education in Egypt is based on memorization, learning by heart and lecturing rather than understanding and innovation and that it is the equivalent to education in Korea in 1940 and in Turkey in 1970.
If you were offered to implement your research in a foreign country, would you accept?
I would accept on humanitarian grounds to cure the world’s patients since my dreams were blocked by red tape in Egypt.
