title: Taxane anticancer agents: a patent perspective.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Paclitaxel and docetaxel were two epoch-making anticancer drugs and have been successfully used in chemotherapy for a variety of cancer types. In the year 2010, a new taxane, cabazitaxel, was approved by FDA for use in combination with prednisone for the treatment of metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab™-paclitaxel; abraxane) nanodroplet formulation was another notable invention (FDA approval 2005 for refractory, metastatic, or relapsed breast cancer). Abraxane in combination with gemcitabine for the treatment of pancreatic cancer was approved by FDA in 2013. Accordingly, there have been a huge number of patent applications dealing with taxane anticancer agents in the last 5 years. Thus, it is a good time to review the progress in this area and find the next wave for new developments.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review covers the patent literature from the year 2010 to early 2015 on various aspects of taxane-based chemotherapies and drug developments.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Three FDA-approved taxane anticancer drugs will continue to expand their therapeutic applications, especially through drug combinations and new formulations. Inspired by the success of abraxane, new nano-formulations are emerging. Highly potent new-generation taxanes will play a key role in the development of efficacious tumor-targeted drug delivery systems.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Chemistry , Stony Brook University , Stony Brook , NY 11794-3400 , USA.|b Institute of Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery , Stony Brook University , Stony Brook , NY 11794-3400 , USA.
authors.forename: Iwao
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ojima
authors.affiliation: a Department of Chemistry , Stony Brook University , Stony Brook , NY 11794-3400 , USA.
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lichtenthal
authors.affiliation: b Institute of Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery , Stony Brook University , Stony Brook , NY 11794-3400 , USA.
authors.forename: Siyeon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: a Department of Chemistry , Stony Brook University , Stony Brook , NY 11794-3400 , USA.
authors.forename: Changwei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Chemistry , Stony Brook University , Stony Brook , NY 11794-3400 , USA.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077143:Docetaxel; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D015195:Drug Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D049329:Nanostructures; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010330:Patents as Topic; D043823:Taxoids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D043823:Taxoids; D000077143:Docetaxel; C552428:cabazitaxel; D017239:Paclitaxel
keywords: abraxane; cabazitaxel; cancer; chemotherapy; docetaxel; drug combination; formulation paclitaxel; taxane; taxoid