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 Vinorelbine tartrate

Vinorelbine tartrate is the ditartrate salt of a semisynthetic vinca alkaloid derived from the leaves of the periwinkle plant (Vinca rosea) with antineoplastic activity. Vinorelbine binds to tubulin, thereby inhibiting tubulin polymerization into microtubules and spindle formation and resulting in apoptosis of susceptible cancer cells. Inhibition of mitotic microtubules correlates with antitumor activity, whereas inhibition of axonal microtubules seems to correlate with vinorelbine's neurotoxicity. Compared to related vinca alkaloids, vinorelbine is more selective against mitotic than axonal microtubules in vitro, which may account for its decreased neurotoxicity. This agent is also a radiation-sensitizing agent. Check for active clinical trials or closed clinical trials using this agent. (NCI Thesaurus)

DRUG DESCRIPTION

NAVELBINE (vinorelbine tartrate) Injection is for intravenous administration. Each vial contains vinorelbine tartrate equivalent to 10 mg (1-mL vial) or 50 mg (5-mL vial) vinorelbine in Water for Injection. No preservatives or other additives are present. The aqueous solution is sterile and nonpyrogenic. Vinorelbine tartrate is a semi-synthetic vinca alkaloid with antitumor activity. The chemical name is 3',4'-didehydro-4'-deoxy-C'-norvincaleukoblastine [R-(R*,R*)-2, 3-dihydroxybutanedioate (1:2)(salt)]. vinorelbine tartrate is a white to yellow or light brown amorphous powder with the molecular formula C45H54N4O8•2C4H6O6 and molecular weight of 1079.12. The aqueous solubility is > 1,000 mg/mL in distilled water. The pH of NAVELBINE Injection is approximately 3.5.

Oral formulation

An oral formulation has been marketed and registered in most European coutries for the same settings. It has similar efficacy as the intravenous formulation, avoids venous toxicities of an infusion and is easier to take. from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinorelbine.

CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY

Vinorelbine is a vinca alkaloid that interferes with microtubule assembly. The vinca alkaloids are structurally similar compounds comprised of 2 multiringed units, vindoline and catharanthine. Unlike other vinca alkaloids, the catharanthine unit is the site of structural modification for vinorelbine. The antitumor activity of vinorelbine is thought to be due primarily to inhibition of mitosis at metaphase through its interaction with tubulin. Like other vinca alkaloids, vinorelbine may also interfere with: 1) amino acid, cyclic AMP, and glutathione metabolism, 2) calmodulin-dependent Ca++-transport ATPase activity, 3) cellular respiration, and 4) nucleic acid and lipid biosynthesis. In intact tectal plates from mouse embryos, vinorelbine, vincristine and vinblastine inhibited mitotic microtubule formation at the same concentration (2 µM), inducing a blockade of cells at metaphase. Vincristine produced depolymerization of axonal microtubules at 5 µM, but vinblastine and vinorelbine did not have this effect until concentrations of 30 µM and 40 µM, respectively. These data suggest relative selectivity of vinorelbine for mitotic microtubules.

History

Vinorelbine was invented by the pharmacist Pierre Potier and his team from the CNRS in France in the 1980s and was licensed to the oncology department of the Pierre Fabre Group. The drug was approved in France in 1989 under the brand name Navelbine for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. It gained approval to treat metastatic breast cancer in 1991. Vinorelbine received approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 1994 sponsored by Burroughs Wellcome Company. Pierre Fabre Group now markets Navelbine in the U.S. where the drug went generic in February 2003. In most European countries, it is approved to treat non-small cell lung cancer and breast cancer. from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinorelbine.