Dasatinib

Dasatinib, sold under the brand name Sprycel, is a targeted therapy used to treat certain cases of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Specifically it is used to treat cases that are Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+). It is taken by mouth.Dasatinib is used to treat people with chronic myeloid leukemia and people with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who are positive for the Philadelphia chromosome.Neutropenia and myelosuppression were common toxic effects. Fifteen people (of 84, i.e. 18%) in the above-mentioned study developed pleural effusions, which was a suspected side effect of dasatinib. Some of these people required thoracentesis or pleurodesis to treat the effusions. Other adverse events included mild to moderate diarrhea, peripheral edema, and headache. A small number of people developed abnormal liver function tests which returned to normal without dose adjustments. Mild hypocalcemia was also noted, but did not appear to cause any significant problems. Several cases of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) were found in people treated with dasatinib.The main targets of dasatinib are BCR/Abl (the 'Philadelphia chromosome'), Src, c-Kit, ephrin receptors, and several other tyrosine kinases.Dasatinib was developed by collaboration of Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, and named for Bristol-Myers Squibb research fellow Jagabandhu Das, whose program leader says that the drug would not have come into existence had he not challenged some of the medicinal chemists' underlying assumptions at a time when progress in the development of the molecule had stalled.The Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment objected to the price of dasatinib, in a letter to the U.S. trade representative. The average wholesale price in the U.S. is $367 per day, twice the price in other high income countries. The price in India, where the average annual per capita income is $1,570, and where most people pay out of pocket, is Rs6627 ($108) a day. Indian manufacturers offered to supply generic versions for $4 a day, but, under pressure from the U.S., the Indian Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion refused to issue a compulsory license.In Bangladesh dasatinib is avaliable under the trade name Dasanix by Beacon Pharmaceuticals.