Plinabulin (provisional name BPI-2358, formerly NPI-2358) is a

small molecule Within the fields of molecular biology and pharmacology, a small molecule or micromolecule is a low molecular weight (≤ 1000 daltons) organic compound that may regulate a biological process, with a size on the order of 1 nm. Many drugs are ...

under development by BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals, and is in a world-wide Phase 3 clinical trial for

non-small cell lung cancer Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is any type of epithelial lung cancer other than small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). NSCLC accounts for about 85% of all lung cancers. As a class, NSCLCs are relatively insensitive to chemotherapy, compared to s ...

. Plinabulin is being investigated for the reduction of

chemotherapy-induced neutropenia Neutropenia is an abnormally low concentration of neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) in the blood. Neutrophils make up the majority of circulating white blood cells and serve as the primary defense against infections by destroying bacteria ...

and for anti-cancer effects in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors and in

KRAS mutated tumor ''KRAS'' ( Kirsten rat sarcoma virus) is a gene that provides instructions for making a protein called K-Ras, a part of the RAS/MAPK pathway. The protein relays signals from outside the cell to the cell's nucleus. These signals instruct the cel ...

s. Plinabulin blocks the polymerization of

tubulin Tubulin in molecular biology can refer either to the tubulin protein superfamily of globular proteins, or one of the member proteins of that superfamily. α- and β-tubulins polymerize into microtubules, a major component of the eukaryotic cytosk ...

in a unique manner, resulting in multi-factorial effects including an enhanced immune-oncology response, activation of the

JNK pathway c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs), were originally identified as kinases that bind and phosphorylate c-Jun on Ser-63 and Ser-73 within its transcriptional activation domain. They belong to the mitogen-activated protein kinase family, and are res ...

and disruption of the tumor blood supply.

References

{{reflist Diketopiperazines Imidazoles Experimental cancer drugs Tert-butyl compounds