PledPharma: Catalytic cytoprotection

Toxicities associated with chemotherapy often prevent cancer patients from completing treatment or reaching the recommended dose, limiting the drugs' efficacy. PledPharma AB is developing mangafodipir to protect healthy cells from chemotherapy-induced toxicities, with the aim of increasing survival and quality of life and reducing overall costs for cancer patients.

Mangafodipir is a pyridoxyl ethyldiamine (PLED) analog first developed in the 1980s as an MRI contrast agent. General Electric Co.'s GE Healthcare unit marketed Teslascan mangafodipir as an MRI agent until it was withdrawn from the market due to low demand in October 2003 in the U.S. and July 2010 in the EU...