Clinical data | |
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License data | |
Pregnancy category |
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Routes of administration |
intravenous liposomal infusion over one hour |
ATC code | L03AX15 (WHO) |
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Pharmacokinetic data | |
Bioavailability | N/A |
Biological half-life | minutes (in plasma) 18 hrs (terminal) |
Identifiers | |
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CAS Number |
83461-56-7 838853-48-8 (mifamurtide sodium · xH2O) |
PubChem (CID) | 11672602 |
ChemSpider | 9847332 |
UNII | EQD2NNX741 |
KEGG | D06619 |
Chemical and physical data | |
Formula | C59H109N6O19P |
Molar mass | 1237.499 g/mol |
3D model (Jmol) | Interactive image |
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(what is this?) |
Mifamurtide (trade name Mepact, marketed by Takeda) is a drug against osteosarcoma, a kind of bone cancer mainly affecting children and young adults, which is lethal in about a third of cases. The drug was approved in Europe in March 2009.
The drug was invented by Ciba-Geigy (now Novartis) in the early 1980s and sold to Jenner Biotherapies in the 1990s. In 2003, IDM Pharma bought the rights and developed it further. IDM Pharma was acquired by Takeda along with mifamurtide in June 2009.
Mifamurtide had already been granted orphan drug status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2001, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) followed in 2004. It was approved in the 27 European Union member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway by a centralized marketing authorization in March 2009. The drug was denied approval by the FDA in 2007. Mifamurtide has been licensed by the EMA since March, 2009.
Mifamurtide is indicated for the treatment of high-grade, nonmetastasizing, resectable osteosarcoma following complete surgical removal in children, adolescents, and young adults, aged two to 30 years. Osteosarcoma is diagnosed in about 1,000 individuals in Europe and the USA per year, most under the age of 30. The drug is used in combination with postoperative, multiagent chemotherapy to kill remaining cancer cells and improve a patient's chance of overall survival.
In a phase-III clinical trial in about 800 newly diagnosed osteosarcoma patients, mifamurtide was combined with the chemotherapeutic agents doxorubicin and methotrexate, with or without cisplatin and ifosfamide. The mortality could be lowered by 30% versus chemotherapy plus placebo. Six years after the treatment, 78% of patients were still alive. This equals an absolute risk reduction of 8% .