A new era in anticancer therapy/imatinib—a new era in anticancer therapy

Abstract

Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Association has granted Imatinib 1st prize for prescription drugs in 2008. This review addresses the role of imatinib in anticancer therapy. Imatinib is the first member of a new class of agents that act by inhibiting particular tyrosine kinase enzymes, instead of non-specifically inhibiting rapidly dividing cells. It is currently marketed by Novartis as Gleevec (USA) or Glivec (Europe/Australia) as its mesylate salt. © 2008 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.