Nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (Abraxane®)

Abstract

Albumin has high binding affinity to hydrophobic molecules and is highly accumulated in tumors, making it an ideal carrier to transport water insoluble drugs to tumors. Nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab®) technology is an albumin-based nanoparticle drug delivery platform that preferentially delivers albumin-bound hydrophobic drugs to tumors without using toxic solvents. Abraxane® (nab-paclitaxel) is the first approved product based on nab technology and the first protein nanotechnology-based chemotherapeutic. The conventional paclitaxel formulation utilizes Cremophor EL (CrEL) and ethanol as solvents, which lead to prolonged systemic exposure, slower tissue distribution, and increased drug toxicity. In contrast, preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that nab-paclitaxel displays distinct pharmacokinetics (PK) and biodistribution properties, increased antitumor efficacy, and improved safety profile compared with CrEL-paclitaxel. As a result, nab-paclitaxel has been approved for the treatment of multiple indications in oncology, including metastatic breast cancer, locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, and advanced gastric cancer (in Japan). The clinical success of nab-paclitaxel demonstrates the great potential of nab technology and albumin-based drug delivery platforms in general through exploitation of the natural properties of albumin and tumor biology.