Products
Flomiren
Pharmacotherapeutic group
ImmunosuppressantInternational name
Mycophenolate MofetilDosage form
film-coated tabletsImmunosuppressant for the prevention of acute rejection. Mycophenolate mofetil (MPM), the active ingredient of the drug, is the morpholinoethyl ester of mycophenolic acid (MPA). It is a selective, non-competitive, reversible inhibitor of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), the rate-limiting enzyme of de novo synthesis of guanosine nucleotides. The mechanism by which MPA inhibits the enzymatic activity of IMPDH appears to be related to the ability of MPA to structurally mimic both nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide cofactor and a catalytic water molecule. This prevents the oxidation of IMP to xanthose-5'-monophosphate which is the committed step in de novo guanosine nucleotide biosynthesis. MPA has more potent cytostatic effects on lymphocytes than on other cells because T- and B-lymphocytes are critically dependent for their proliferation on de novo synthesis of purines whereas other cell types can utilize salvage pathways.