Nartograstim, a highly active mutein of the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor
(G-CSF) produced by recombinant technology, was introduced in Japan for the
treatment of chemotherapy-induced granulocytopenia, rhabdomyosarcoma and
neutropenia associated with infantile acute lymphatic leukemia and infantile aplastic
anemia. In mice, nartograstim showed an excellent accelerating effect on rapid
recovery from severe leukopenia induced by typical anticancer agents such as
mitomycin C and adriamycin. In patients with advanced lung cancer, nartograstim
has been reported to produce a significant shortening of the period of neutropenia
and an acceleration of neutrophil count recovery. With changes of five amino acids
at the N-terminal region of human G-CSF, nartograstim has superior in vivo
hematopoietic effects to the intact rhG-CSF due to its higher specific activity to
progenitor cells and its improved physicochemical, biological and pharmacokinetic
stability.
