Ombrabulin is an experimental drug candidate discovered by Ajinomoto

Ajinomoto

Ajinomoto Co. Inc. , is a Japanese food and chemical corporation which produces seasonings, cooking oils, TV dinners, sweeteners, amino acids and pharmaceuticals...

 and under development by Sanofi-Aventis

Sanofi-Aventis

Sanofi S.A. is a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France, the world's fourth-largest by prescription sales. Sanofi engages in the research and development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical products for sale principally in the prescription market, but the...

. It is currently in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of advanced-stage soft-tissue sarcoma.

Ombrabulin was granted orphan drug

Orphan drug

An orphan drug is a pharmaceutical agent that has been developed specifically to treat a rare medical condition, the condition itself being referred to as an orphan disease...

 status by the European Medicines Agency

European Medicines Agency

The European Medicines Agency is a European agency for the evaluation of medicinal products. From 1995 to 2004, the European Medicines Agency was known as European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products.Roughly parallel to the U.S...

 in April 2011.

Ombrabulin is a combretastatin A-4

Combretastatin A-4

Combretastatin A-4 is a combretastatin, a type of stilbenoid. It can be isolated from Combretum caffrum, the Eastern Cape South African Bushwillow tree.-Derivatives:...

 derivative

Derivative (chemistry)

In chemistry, a derivative is a compound that is derived from a similar compound by some chemical or physical process. In the past it was also used to mean a compound that can be imagined to arise from another compound, if one atom is replaced with another atom or group of atoms, but modern...

that exerts its antitumor effect by disrupting the formation of blood vessels needed for tumor growth.