Azixa™ (verubulin, MPC-6827) is an investigational new cancer drug being developed by Myrexis, Inc. for the treatment of cancer.  Azixa (verubulin, MPC-6827) is thought to work in multiple ways.

Azixa kills tumor cells

Azixa (verubulin, MPC-6827) binds to a protein called tubulin, an essential protein that is needed for cancer cells to grow and multiply.  By binding to tubulin, Azixa causes cancer cells to die by a process called apoptosis.

Azixa targets tumor blood vessels

Azixa (verubulin, MPC-6827) targets and disrupts the blood vessels of tumors.  As a tumor grows larger, it becomes dependent upon the nutrients and oxygen supplied by newly formed blood vessels.  In the laboratory, we have shown Azixa (verubulin, MPC-6827) rapidly destroys tumor blood vessels, resulting in tumor shrinkage. Tumors from patients with glioblastoma multiforme possess a large number of blood vessels, and may be sensitive to this type of treatment.

Azixa reaches tumors in the brain

The brain and central nervous system have developed elaborate and effective mechanisms to keep out potentially harmful agents.  This is known as the blood-brain-barrier.  One negative consequence of this barrier is that it is also hard to get drugs to cross or penetrate this barrier into the brain.  Traditional chemotherapy agents do not penetrate into the brain.  Drugs that are able to cross the blood-brain barrier have the potential to enhance activity toward brain cancers.  Azixa (verubulin, MPC-6827) is being studied in brain cancer because it possesses a very unusual characteristic for a cancer drug; it is able to get into the brain.