Denileukin diftitox

Legal statusLegal status Pharmacokinetic dataElimination half-life70-80 minIdentifiersCAS NumberIUPHAR/BPSDrugBankChemSpiderUNIIChEMBLChemical and physical dataFormulaC₂₅₆₀H₄₀₄₂N₆₇₈O₇₉₉S₁₇Molar mass57647.46 g·mol^−1 NY (what is this?)  (verify)

Denileukin diftitox (trade name Ontak) was an antineoplastic agent, an engineered protein combining interleukin-2 and diphtheria toxin. Denileukin diftitox could bind to interleukin-2 receptors^[1] and introduce the diphtheria toxin into cells that express those receptors, killing the cells. In some leukemias and lymphomas, malignant cells express these receptors, so denileukin diftitox can target these.

In 1999, Ontak was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).^[2]

There is some evidence tying it to vision loss, and in 2006 the FDA added a black box warning to the drug's label.^[3]

In 2014, marketing of Ontak was discontinued in the US.^[4]

References

External links

• FDA Safety Alert