Drug Detail

Information about Torisel

Generic Name	Temsirolimus
IND	CCI-779
Brand Name (US)	Torisel
Manufacturer	Wheth Pharmaceuticals
Drug Type	mTOR inhibitor
Delivery	Intravenous
Approval Status	Approved for a non-GIST cancer
Indications	Kidney cancer
Overall Strategy	Oncogenic Signal Path Based
Strategy	Block KIT Signal Path
Drug Category	mTOR inhibitor

Temsirolimus is an Intravenous drug approved for use in renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer). It is not approved for GIST.
mTOR inhibitors interfer with the synthesis of proteins that regulate proliferation, growth and survival of tumor cells. They also inhibit tumor angiogenesis by reducing VEGF.

Temsirolimus is an inhibitor of mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin). Temsirolimus binds to an intracellular protein (FKBP-12), and the protein-drug complex inhibits the activity of mTOR that controls cell division. Inhibition of mTOR activity resulted in a G1 growth arrest in treated tumor cells. When mTOR was inhibited, its ability to phosphorylate p70S6k and S6 ribosomal protein, which are downstream of mTOR in the PI3 kinase/AKT pathway was blocked. In in vitro studies using renal cell carcinoma cell lines, temsirolimus inhibited the activity of mTOR and resulted in reduced levels of the hypoxia-inducible factors HIF-1 and HIF-2 alpha, and the vascular endothelial growth factor