The US FDA granted granted orphan drug designation for Hana Biosciences' Ropidoxuridine (IPdR) for the treatment of malignant glioma, a class of tumor that develops from glial (neuroepithelial or support) cells, and which make up nearly half of all primary brain tumors.
Ropidoxuridine is a novel, orally available, thymidine analogue and prodrug for IUdR, which has demonstrated promising efficacy against anaplastic astrocytoma, a type of glioma. It is currently under Phase I trials for colorectal, gastric and pancreatic cancer; Phase I/II clinical trials for malignant glioma are being planned.
Source: Hana Biosciences press release (pdf file)
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