ChemSpider Blog

Paclitaxel is a mitotic inhibitor used in cancer chemotherapy. It was discovered in a National Cancer Institute program at the Research Triangle Institute in 1967 when Monroe E. Wall and Mansukh C. Wani isolated it from the bark of the Pacific yew tree, ”Taxus brevifolia” and named it ‘taxol’. When it was developed commercially by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) the generic name was changed to ‘paclitaxel’ and the BMS compound is sold under the trademark ‘Taxol’. In this formulation paclitaxel is dissolved in Cremophor EL, a polyoxyethylated castor oil, as a delivery agent since paclitaxel is not soluble in water. A newer formulation, in which paclitaxel is bound to albumin as the delivery agent (Protein-bound paclitaxel), is sold commercially by [http://www.abraxisbio.com Abraxis BioScience] under the trademark [http://www.abraxane.com Abraxane].”[http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/label/2005/021660lbl.pdf Abraxane Drug Information].” ”Food and Drug Administration.” January 7, 2005. Retrieved on March 9, 2007. Paclitaxel is now used to treat patients with lung, ovarian, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, and advanced forms of Kaposi’s sarcoma. Paclitaxel is also used for the prevention of restenosis. Paclitaxel works by interfering with normal microtubule breakdown during cell division. Together with docetaxel, it forms the drug category of the taxanes. It was the subject of a notable total synthesis by Robert A. Holton. As well as offering substantial improvement in patient care, paclitaxel has been a relatively controversial drug. There was originally concern because of the environmental impact of its original sourcing, no longer used, from the Pacific yew. The assignment of rights, and even the name itself, to BMS were the subject of public debate and Congressional hearings. Read more… or Edit at Wikipedia…

There you have it…this type of integration is a joy to do. Literally a couple of minutes to make the connection and a few minutes to set the style et voila. Editing articles in Wikipedia.