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Take away the one thing cancer cannot make.
Many cancer cells cannot make the amino acid arginine. Healthy cells can. Argeon removes arginine from the blood, one dose every 14 days for 24 weeks. The tumour stops growing and weakens; your immune system and your existing treatment get the time they need. For suitable tumours we guarantee no further growth during treatment, or your money back.
What the programme offers
Acts on every tumour site
Arginine deprivation works through the blood. It reaches the primary tumour, metastases and cells too small for any scan.
Spares healthy tissue
Healthy cells make their own arginine. No hair loss and no damage to blood-forming cells. Liver and kidney values are checked at every visit.
Works alongside chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation
A starved tumour cell is more vulnerable to all three. Your oncologist decides what to combine and keeps prescribing it.
One visit every 14 days
Many patients fly in for the dose and spend the two weeks in between at home.
No growth, or your money back
For tumours confirmed suitable we guarantee no further growth during treatment. If it grows anyway, you get your money back. Terms in writing before treatment begins.
The right physician for your case
ARGEA develops and supplies the enzyme and matches you with a treating physician who fits your tumour type, your language and where you live.
Cancer cells that cannot feed themselves
Healthy cells make arginine in the urea cycle. Many cancers have switched off the enzymes they would need for this, ASS1 or OTC, and depend entirely on arginine from the blood. Remove it there, and those cells starve while healthy tissue keeps its own supply.
The full mechanism, with the urea cycle, selectivity and resistance →
Twelve visits and three reviews over 24 weeks
Each visit takes about an hour: a short check, a blood draw, the dose, observation. Between visits you live your life. After every block you, your oncologist and our physicians decide together: continue, adjust, or stop.
A third-generation enzyme, built for months rather than weeks
Earlier enzymes proved the principle and showed its limits: the body neutralised them within weeks, they had to be injected every week, and they worked on only one subgroup of tumours. Argeon was developed in our laboratory to solve these three problems.
| Earlier enzymes | Argeon | |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | bacterial protein, or a short-lived human one | mammalian arginase bound to albumin |
| Antibodies | loss of effect after about eight weeks | designed for low immunogenicity; checked at every visit through the arginine level |
| Dosing | every week | every 14 days |
| Tumour range | ASS1-negative only | ASS1- or OTC-negative |
| Length of treatment | limited by antibodies | 24 weeks, extendable |
The result is a course of arginine deprivation that lasts long enough to exhaust a tumour's reserves, with a visit every two weeks instead of every week.
USD 150,000 to 250,000 for twelve doses over 24 weeks
Total USD 150,000 to 250,000, by dose and tumour type · You can stop after any block. The remaining blocks are never charged.
The price depends on the dose, which follows body weight and tumour type, and is fixed in a binding written quote before you consent. It covers the enzyme, every visit and administration, and the scheduled laboratory and imaging monitoring. Combined therapies prescribed by your oncologist, travel and accommodation are separate. Payment terms are discussed with you personally.
No further growth during treatment, or your money back
For tumours confirmed suitable, we guarantee that the tumour does not grow during treatment. If it does, you get your money back. In most documented cases the tumour markers did not just hold, they fell. The exact terms are agreed with you personally and fixed in writing before treatment begins.
- Suitable: ASS1 or OTC loss confirmed on your tumour tissue before the first dose.
- Growth: progression on the scheduled imaging at week 8, 16 or 24, by RECIST 1.1, confirmed by your own oncologist.
- Your terms: set out in your treatment agreement, discussed with you in person.
Why a course costs what it costs
Argeon is a recombinant protein, produced in small batches in our own laboratory and tested batch by batch. The dose follows your body weight: a course is measured in grams of enzyme, not milligrams. Around it sits six months of physician-led care. And the guarantee means that for a suitable tumour that still grows, we pay, not you.
In context: what advanced cancer treatment costs
| Treatment | Typical cost | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Checkpoint immunotherapy (anti-PD-1), one year | USD 150,000 to 200,000 | US list prices, infusions every three weeks |
| CAR-T cell therapy, single treatment | USD 375,000 to 475,000 | US list price, plus hospital stay |
| Targeted therapy (kinase inhibitors), one year | USD 120,000 to 240,000 | USD 10,000 to 20,000 per month, US list prices |
| ARGEA cancer therapy, 24 weeks | USD 150,000 to 250,000 | Twelve doses, all visits and monitoring, guarantee |
Comparison figures are published list prices in the United States and vary by country and insurer; they are given for scale, not as a recommendation for or against those treatments. Most of them are combined with Argeon rather than replaced by it.
What stands behind the therapy
Europe, Middle East, Asia, or your own oncologist
Georgia
For patients from Europe, Russia and Central Asia. Two to four hours from most European cities; lower cost of stay.
Dubai, UAE
For patients from the Gulf, Africa and South Asia. Modern clinic infrastructure; the programme's operating base.
Hong Kong
For patients from Asia and Australia. Direct flights from across the region; English-speaking physicians and staff.
Your own oncologist
In countries where a physician may use an unlicensed medicine for a named patient, we supply Argeon to your own oncologist and support them with the protocol and the monitoring. No travel.
Headquarters and development: ARGEA Biotech, Baar, Switzerland. We propose the location and the physician after the eligibility review, based on your tumour type, your language, where you live and what the law there allows.
Three steps to a written treatment plan
Tell us about your situation
Two minutes in the enquiry form: diagnosis, treatments so far, where you live. No records yet.
We review your records
You send reports and imaging through a secure channel. Our physicians answer in writing within five working days.
Consultation and plan
A conversation with you, and with your oncologist if you wish. Then a treatment proposal with dates, clinic and cost. You decide.