Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Deferasirox

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Routes of administration
  
Oral

Bioavailability
  
70%

Molar mass
  
373.362 g/mol

ATC code
  
V03AC03 (WHO)

CAS ID
  
201530-41-8

Protein binding
  
99%

Deferasirox

License data
  
EU EMA: Exjade US FDA: Deferasirox

Pregnancy category
  
AU: C US: B (No risk in non-human studies)

Legal status
  
UK: POM (Prescription only) US: ℞-only

Metabolism
  
Hepatic glucuronidation

Deferasirox (marketed as Exjade, Desirox, Defrijet, Desifer, Rasiroxpine and Jadenu) is an oral iron chelator. Its main use is to reduce chronic iron overload in patients who are receiving long-term blood transfusions for conditions such as beta-thalassemia and other chronic anemias. It is the first oral medication approved in the USA for this purpose.

Contents

It was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2005. According to FDA (May 2007), renal failure and cytopenias have been reported in patients receiving deferasirox oral suspension tablets. It is approved in the European Union by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for children 6 years and older for chronic iron overload from repeated blood transfusions.

Poll 1 result what of these chelaters are you having


Properties of deferasirox

The half-life of deferasirox is between 8 and 16 hours allowing once a day dosing. Two molecules of deferasirox are capable of binding to 1 atom of iron which are subsequently eliminated by fecal excretion. Its low molecular weight and high lipophilicity allows the drug to be taken orally unlike deferoxamine which has to be administered by IV route (intravenous infusion). Together with deferiprone, deferasirox seems to be capable of removing iron from cells (cardiac myocytes and hepatocytes) as well as removing iron from the blood.

Synthesis

Deferasirox can be prepared from simple commercially available starting materials (salicylic acid, salicylamide and 4-hydrazinobenzoic acid) in the following two-step synthetic sequence:

The condensation of salicyloyl chloride (formed in situ from salicylic acid and thionyl chloride) with salicylamide under dehydrating reaction conditions results in formation of 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-1,3(4H)-benzoxazin-4-one. This intermediate is isolated and reacted with 4-hydrazinobenzoic acid in the presence of base to give 4-(3,5-bis(2-hydroxyphenyl)-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)benzoic acid (Deferasirox).

Risks

Deferasirox was the #2 drug on the list of 'Most frequent suspected drugs in reported patient deaths' compiled by the Institute for Safe Medical Practices in 2009. There were 1320 deaths reported, perhaps explained by an update to the ADE data of Novartis, and a new boxed warning about gastrointestinal haemorrhage as well as kidney and liver failure.

References

Deferasirox Wikipedia