ARTICLE | Tools & Techniques
Tissue factor-activated prodrugs
September 29, 2011 7:00 AM UTC
A team at The Scripps Research Institute has designed a prodrug of doxorubicin that is activated by components of the tissue factor coagulation cascade present in high concentrations in the tumor microenvironment, thus avoiding off-target effects.1 The prodrugs, which are licensed to Affinity Pharmaceuticals Inc., showed better efficacy against primary tumors and metastases than standard doxorubicin in mice.
Tissue factor is a glycoprotein that has been associated with many aggressive cancers,2 where high levels on the tumor cell surface can trigger oncogenic proliferation, angiogenesis and metastasis.3...