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 Romidepsin

Romidepsin, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, is a bicyclic depsipeptide. At room temperature, romidepsin is a white powder and is described chemically as (1S,4S,7Z,10S,16E,21R)-7-ethylidene-4,21-bis(1methylethyl)-2-oxa-12,13-dithia-5,8,20,23-tetraazabicyclo[8.7.6]tricos-16ene-3,6,9,19,22-pentone. The empirical formula is C₂₄H₃₆N₄O₆S₂. ISTODAX (romidepsin) for injection is intended for intravenous infusion only after reconstitution with the supplied Diluent and after further dilution with 0.9% Sodium Chloride, USP. ISTODAX is supplied as a kit containing two vials. ISTODAX (romidepsin) for injection is a sterile lyophilized white powder and is supplied in a single-use vial containing 10 mg romidepsin and 20 mg povidone, USP. Diluent for ISTODAX is a sterile clear solution and is supplied in a single-use vial containing a 2-mL deliverable volume. Diluent for ISTODAX contains 80% (v/v) propylene glycol, USP and 20% (v/v) dehydrated alcohol, USP.

Romidepsin is a bicyclic depsipeptide antibiotic isolated from the bacterium Chromobacterium violaceum with antineoplastic activity. After intracellular activation, romidepsin binds to and inhibits histone deacetylase (HDAC), resulting in alterations in gene expression and the induction of cell differentiation, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis. This agent also inhibits hypoxia-induced angiogenesis and depletes several heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90)-dependent oncoproteins. Check for active clinical trials or closed clinical trials using this agent. (NCI Thesaurus).

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romidepsin, Romidepsin was first reported in the scientific literature in 1994, by a team of researchers from Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Company (now Astellas Pharma) in Tsukuba, Japan, who isolated it in a culture of Chromobacterium violaceum from a soil sample obtained in Yamagata Prefecture. It was found to have little to no antibacterial activity, but was potently cytotoxic against several human cancer cell lines, with no effect on normal cells; studies on mice later found it to have antitumor activity in vivo as well. The first total synthesis of romidepsin was accomplished by Harvard researchers and published in 1996. Its mechanism of action was elucidated in 1998, when researchers from Fujisawa and the University of Tokyo found it to be a histone deacetylase inhibitor with effects similar to those of trichostatin A. Romidepsin is branded and owned by Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, now a part of Celgene. On November 5, 2009, it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of CTCL, after five years in the agency's fast track development program.

Mechanism of Action

Romidepsin is a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor. HDACs catalyze the removal of acetyl groups from acetylated lysine residues in histones, resulting in the modulation of gene expression. HDACs also deacetylate non-histone proteins, such as transcription factors. In vitro, romidepsin causes the accumulation of acetylated histones, and induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of some cancer cell lines with IC50 values in the nanomolar range. The mechanism of the antineoplastic effect of romidepsin observed in nonclinical and clinical studies has not been fully characterized.

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