Ombrabulin was an experimental drug candidate discovered by
Ajinomoto
is a Japanese multinational food and biotechnology corporation which produces seasonings, interlayer insulating materials for semiconductor packages for use in personal computers, cooking oils, frozen foods, beverages, sweeteners, amino acids, an ...
and further developed by
Sanofi-Aventis
Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Syn ...
.
Ombrabulin is a
combretastatin A-4
Combretastatin A-4 is a combretastatin and a stilbenoid. It can be isolated from '' Combretum caffrum'', the Eastern Cape South African bushwillow tree or in '' Combretum leprosum'', the mofumbo, a species found in Brazil.
Function
Tubulin repre ...
derivative
In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value (output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value). Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. F ...
that exerts its antitumor effect by disrupting the formation of blood vessels needed for tumor growth.
It was granted
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 ...
status by the
European Medicines Agency
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of medicinal products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products or Euro ...
in April 2011.
In January 2013, Sanofi said it discontinued development of ombrabulin after disappointing results from phase III clinical trials.
References
{{reflist
Experimental cancer drugs
Amino acid derivatives