Protein-bound paclitaxel, also known as nanoparticle albumin–bound paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel, is an

injectable An injection (often and usually referred to as a "shot" in US English, a "jab" in UK English, or a "jag" in Scottish English and Scots) is the act of administering a liquid, especially a drug, into a person's body using a needle (usually a hypo ...

formulation of

paclitaxel Paclitaxel (PTX), sold under the brand name Taxol among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical cancer ...

used to treat

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

and

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

, among others. Paclitaxel kills cancer cells by preventing the normal breakdown of

microtubule Microtubules are polymers of tubulin that form part of the cytoskeleton and provide structure and shape to eukaryotic cells. Microtubules can be as long as 50 micrometres, as wide as 23 to 27 nm and have an inner diameter between 11 an ...

s during cell division. In this formulation, paclitaxel is bonded to

albumin Albumin is a family of globular proteins, the most common of which are the serum albumins. All the proteins of the albumin family are water-soluble, moderately soluble in concentrated salt solutions, and experience heat denaturation. Albumins ...

as a delivery vehicle. It is manufactured and sold in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Celgene Celgene Corporation is a pharmaceutical company that makes cancer and immunology drugs. Its major product is Revlimid ( lenalidomide), which is used in the treatment of multiple myeloma, and also in certain anemias. The company is incorporated in ...

under the trade name Abraxane where it is designated as an

orphan drug An orphan drug is a pharmaceutical agent developed to treat medical conditions which, because they are so rare, would not be profitable to produce without government assistance. The conditions are referred to as orphan diseases. The assignment of ...

as first-line treatment, in combination with

gemcitabine Gemcitabine, with brand names including Gemzar, is a chemotherapy medication. It treats cancers including testicular cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and bladder cancer. It is administered by i ...

, for the

orphan disease A rare disease is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population. In some parts of the world, an orphan disease is a rare disease whose rarity means there is a lack of a market large enough to gain support and resources for discove ...

"metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas". This treatment was approved in the United States in 2005, and the European Union in 2008, for

cases where cancer did not respond to other

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

or has relapsed. In 2012, the FDA widened the approved uses to include treatment for NSCLC. In 2013, the FDA approved protein-bound paclitaxel for use in treating advanced

as a less toxic (although less effective) alternative to

FOLFIRINOX FOLFIRINOX is a chemotherapy regimen for treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer. It is made up of the following four drugs: * FOL – folinic acid (leucovorin), a vitamin B derivative that enhances the effects of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU); * F – ...

Society and culture

Abraxane is registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods for the treatment of metastatic carcinoma of the breast after failure of anthracycline therapy. Abraxane is also included on the Schedule of the Australian

Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is a program of the Australian Government that subsidises prescription medication for Australian citizens and permanent residents, as well as international visitors covered by a reciprocal health care ag ...

although the manufacturer was unable to convince the independent

Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is a program of the Australian Government that subsidises prescription medication for Australian citizens and permanent residents, as well as international visitors covered by a reciprocal health care ag ...

that the drug warranted a higher price than existing comparator drugs. Protein-bound paclitaxel was developed by VivoRx which became

Abraxis BioScience Abraxis BioScience was a global biopharmaceutical, and nano-medicine company that developed treatments for critically ill patients. It had over 2000 employees worldwide in 2007. Abraxis's portfolio included the world's first protein-based nanopa ...

as the first in its class of drugs to use the nanoparticle albumin bound (nab) technology platform. In 2010, Abraxis was acquired by

, which now markets Abraxane. Total revenue from the sales of Abraxane for 2009 were $314.5 million. In 2013, Abraxane was FDA approved for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. In 2014, Abraxane's sales were $848 million, 31 percent year-over-year increase. The British

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in England that publishes guidelines in four areas: * the use of health technologies withi ...

(NICE) announced in 2015, that it would not support the routine use of protein-bound paclitaxel in advanced pancreatic cancer on the NHS.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Protein-bound Paclitaxel Breast cancer Bristol Myers Squibb Mitotic inhibitors Orphan drugs

Society and culture

References

Further reading

External links