Camptothecin

January 10, 2024

Researchers at the Indian Institutes of Technology Madras and Mandi have metabolically engineered plant cells to increase production of anti-cancer drug camptothecin (CPT).
- It is an important anti-cancer drug lead molecule for high-value drugs like Topotecan and Irinotecan.
- Camptothecin is a molecule procured from nature and then (in a) one-step derivative it is produced as drug.
The allopathic medicine is produced using Nathapodytes nimmoniana, a native, endangered plant.
It requires nearly 1,000 tonnes of plant material to extract 1 tonne of CPT.
Camptothecin is majorly produced in southeast Asian region, with the plant being largely found only in China and India.
- The Chinese variety (Camptotheca acuminata) of the plant used to extract the cell is listed as critically endangered. There are only 4,000 of the species left.
- In India the plant (Nothapodytes nimmoniana) is a native of western ghats (also found in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir) and in the last decade there was a 20% decline in population.