Brequinar sodium.

Brequinar sodium is one of a new group of immunosuppressive drugs currently being developed for the prevention of organ graft rejection. The preclinical and clinical characterization of brequinar sodium has clearly demonstrated that this drug is a compound with highly effective immunosuppressive activity that is the result of its interference with pyrimidine biosynthesis and the disruption in cell proliferation. The antiproliferative activity of the drug influences both T and B cell immune function, thereby providing the potential for the use of this compound in combination with other immunosuppressive agents for more specific and effective prevention of allograft and xenograft rejection. Experimental studies with brequinar and cyclosporin or FK 506 have shown that the use of these agents in combination provides a synergistic effect for the prevention of graft rejection, and studies are now in progress to evaluate the application of this drug in clinical transplantation.