What molecule am I?
Vismodegib is a drug that the US Food and Drug Administration approved in 2012 for treating basal-cell carcinoma, a sometimes difficult-to-eradicate skin cancer. It is marketed by Genentech (South San Francisco, CA) under the trade name Erivedge.
Vismodegib is the first drug to be approved by FDA that targets the hedgehog* (Hh) signaling pathway. The聽Hhpathway is vital for the formation of organs in the body, and abnormal聽Hh聽signaling is associated with the development of cancer cells.
This past October, the Genentech research team received one of six聽聽for developing products that improve people鈥檚 lives.
Genentech has more plans for vismodegib. It is in clinical trials for other cancers, including pancreatic, stomach, and lung.
*Why hedgehog? It鈥檚 the name of a signaling molecule that is encoded by the聽贬丑听gene. The absence of the聽gene makes fruit fly larvae look like the bristly animal of the same name.
Vismodegib fast facts
| CAS Reg. No. | 879085-55-9 |
| Molar mass | 421.30 g/mol聽 |
| Formula | C19H14Cl2N2O3S |
| Appearance | White crystals聽 |
| Melting point | 186鈥�188 潞C* |
| Water solubility | 鈮�1 g/L (pH 7) |
MOTW update
骋濒测辫丑辞蝉补迟别听was the Molecule of the Week for聽October 5, 2009. For decades, glyphosate has been a widely used herbicide, but in recent years pesticide applicators have claimed that exposure to it caused non-Hodgkins lymphoma. This past week, however, the results of a study on 54,000 workers showed that there is聽鈥攚ith the possible exception of multiple myeloma, which may the the focus of future studies.
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