14-Year-Old Prodigy Develops Anti-Cancer Soap at an Affordable Price

A bar of Heman's prize-winning SCTS or skin cancer-treating soap.Photo byFairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) News.

In an awe-inspiring feat, a 14-year-old prodigy from Ethiopia, now based in Virginia, United States, has crafted a groundbreaking soap with the potential to combat skin cancer.

This remarkable invention not only clinched the top honor in the esteemed Young Scientist's Challenge but also signals a new dawn in affordable healthcare solutions.

The Young Scientist's Challenge, initiated by the renowned 3M Company—famous for its invention of the N95 mask—is an annual event designed to stimulate young minds to devise practical solutions to real-world issues.

Heman Bekel, the teenage mastermind behind this innovative soap, drew inspiration from his early life experiences in Ethiopia. Witnessing people toiling under the relentless sun, Bekel was moved to create a product that could offer both effectiveness and affordability in the fight against skin cancer.

This exceptional soap is engineered to deliver medication through the skin, thereby empowering the body's immune system to target and combat cancer cells.

The ingenuity of Bekel’s invention lies in its potential to revolutionize skin cancer treatment, especially for those who find the steep costs of current therapies—approximately US$40,000—prohibitively expensive.

In contrast, Bekel's anti-cancer soap can be made for $0.50 a bar or $8.50 for a pack of 20 bars.

Bekel's journey in developing this soap began at his home and gained momentum as he became a finalist in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Collaborating with academic institutions like the University of Virginia and Georgetown University, as well as his mentor, Deborah Isabelle, a product engineer at 3M, Bekel’s project took on new dimensions.

Central to his soap's formulation is imidazoquinoline, a compound already recognized for treating various skin conditions and approved by the FDA for treating basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer Bekel aims to address.

What sets Bekel's soap apart is its unique formulation, which ensures that the cancer-fighting components remain on the skin long after the soap has been rinsed off.

"It does feel a bit stickier [than regular soap] because it contains lipid-based nanoparticles. The idea is that even after washing off the soap, the medicinal elements persist on your skin," Heman elaborated in an interview.

Lipid nanoparticles, initially approved by the FDA in 2018 primarily for drug delivery and famously used in Moderna and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines, are integral to the soap's design. These nanoparticles form an invisible layer on the skin, facilitating the penetration of active compounds without the need for injections.

While the effectiveness of lipid nanoparticles in permeating living tissues like skin remains an area for further exploration, Bekel’s innovation could catalyze this research. Currently relying on computational molecular testing, Bekel has achieved promising results. Yet, human testing and FDA approval are the next crucial steps he aims to achieve by 2028.

As a testament to his dedication and foresight, Bekel envisions transforming his passion project into a nonprofit organization by 2028, with the goal of providing equitable and accessible skin cancer treatments globally.

His story is not just one of a young inventor’s triumph but a beacon of hope in the quest for sustainable solutions to worldwide health challenges.