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Noscapine (CB3304)
Noscapine (CB3304) is an orally active alkaloid derived from opium. Preclinical studies have shown that noscapine is a microtubule targeting agent that alters microtubule dynamics (see Figure 1 below), blocks mitosis, and causes apoptosis. Preclinical antitumor activity has been demonstrated in a number of tumor types including preclinical models of lymphoma, breast cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma and glioblastoma. Noscapine has also shown the ability to inhibit the proliferation of both paclitaxel sensitive and paclitaxel resistant human ovarian carcinoma cell lines.
Figure 1: Gallery of video frames, 10 seconds apart, demonstrating the effect of CB3304 (noscapine) on microtubule dynamics (fixed pixel positions are marked with arrowheads). In control cells, microtubules alternated between phases of growth and shortening; therefore, the position of their plus ends changes significantly over time. In cells treated with CB3304, microtubule dynamics were suppressed; therefore, the position of their plus ends was unaltered. (Landen, Cancer Research, 2002)
A Phase I/II trial of noscapine in patients with multiple myeloma is currently ongoing at the Center for Lymphoma and Myeloma/Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University Medical Center.
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