It’s a tossup for the promising lung cancer drug born in New Zealand, as its fate will now be decided by Japanese and American companies planning to commission a clinical test run.

The drug, dubbed PR610, is an element of the latest class manufactured by scientists at the Maurice Wilkins Research Centre (MWRC) and Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre (ACSR).

The drug is likely to care for healthy tissue by getting active only in the "hypoxic" zone of tumours. Hypoxic are regions without oxygen.

PR610, which follows PR509, has been selected for a clinical workout following an agreement between American biotechnology company ‘Proacta’ and Japanese pharmaceutical company ‘Yakult Honsha’.

Both the medicines have been aimed for combating ‘non-small-cell’ lung cancer that is highly defiant to conventional treatments.

In addition, they will undergo an evaluation for treatment cancers of the breast, stomach and pancreas.

Proacta has gained the legal license required for the development of the "hypoxia-activated" drugs. The university, which granted the license, announced that the pre-clinical data on PR610 is "compelling".

These drugs will reportedly settle in tumours for longer than established drugs that aim human epidermal growth factor receptors.

However, nearly two-thirds of tumours hold hypoxic zones and the cancer cells in these regions are more hostile towards treatment. They are a decisive factor steering relapse and treatment failure.

John Loof, the Chief Executive of the Cancer Society's division in Auckland, has said the experimental drugs were a breakthrough by the Auckland University-linked researchers.