Limited Production Of Plant Derived Anticancer Drugs Vinblastine And Vincristine

One goal of the generic era of modern biotechnology is to achieve rapidly the maximum goal of life saving drug production through scientific processes. Natural products still represent over 50% of all drugs in clinical use. The World Health Organization estimates that 80% of the people in developing countries of the world rely on traditional medicine for their primary health care, and about 85% of traditional medicine involves the use of plant extracts. A recent survey showed that of the 87 anticancer drugs approved over the past ten years, 62% are of natural origin or are modeled on natural product parents. The drugs include paclitaxel, vinblastine, vincristine, podophyllotoxin and camptothecin from Taxus brevifolia, Catharanthus roseus, Podophyllum species and Camptotheca acuminata, respectively. To the best of my knowledge the supply of plant derived neoplastic drugs in world market is very poor. As a result, the market prices for vinblastine, and vincristine are estimated at $2 million/kg, and $15 million/kg, respectively. The supply of these compounds is limited by the availability of the plant worldwide. The annual market value of vincristine, vinblastine and are ranged about $1,000,000 – 3,500,000 per kg. The costs of velbane and velsar made from vinblastine sulfate ˜$2/mg or $2 million/kg and are used in the treatment of many types of cancer like testicular cancer, Hodgkin's disease and Kaposi's sarcoma. Similarly, vincristine sulfate based drug (Oncovin and Vincasar PFS) costs ˜$15/mg or $15 million/kg and are used for the treatment of leukemia in children. Both of these drugs (vinblastine and vincreastine) prevent the multiplication of cancer cells by binding to tubulin and blocking the polymerization to form microtubules required for cell division. The evidence from epidemiological and experimental studies that highlight the importance of compounds derived from plants “phytochemicals” are medically more important to reduce the risk of cancer and inhibit the development and spread of tumors in experimental animals.