Floxuridine is an oncology

Oncology

Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...

 drug that belongs to the class known as antimetabolite

Antimetabolite

An antimetabolite is a chemical that inhibits the use of a metabolite, which is another chemical that is part of normal metabolism. Such substances are often similar in structure to the metabolite that they interfere with, such as the antifolates that interfere with the use of folic acid...

s. The drug is most often used in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

Mechanism of action

Floxuridine works because it is broken down by the body into its active form, which is the same as a metabolite of 5-Fluorouracil.

History

Floxuridine first gained FDA approval in December 1970 under the brand name FUDR. The drug was initially marketed by Roche, which also did a lot of the initial work on 5-fluorouracil. The National Cancer Institute

National Cancer Institute

The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...

 was an early developer of the drug. Roche sold its FUDR product line in 2001 to F H Faulding, which became Mayne Pharma.

Suppliers

In the US the drug is supplied by APP Pharmaceuticals, LLC; Hospira, Inc.; and Bedford Laboratories.