A clinical armamentarium of marine-derived anti-cancer compounds

The sea, covering 70% of the Earth's surface, offers a considerably broader spectrum of biological diversity than terra firma. Containing approximately 75% of all living organisms, the marine environment offers a rich source of natural products with potential therapeutic application. Marine organisms have evolved the enzymatic capability to produce potent chemical entities that make them promising sources of innovative cytotoxic compounds. Prominent in the identification and development of novel anti-cancer agents from marine sources is the Spanish biotechnology company, PharmaMar, which currently has a large number of oncology products in late preclinical and clinical development. These include: ecteinascidin-743 (ET-743), a marine-derived antitumor agent isolated from the Caribbean tunicate, Ecteinascidia turbinata; aplidine (Aplidin), a cyclopeptide cytotoxic agent derived from the Mediterranean tunicate, Aplidium albicans; kahalalide F, a depsipeptide isolated from the Hawaiian mollusc, Elysia rufescens; and ES-285, a molecule isolated from the mollusc, Spisula polynyma. Many of these innovative compounds have novel mechanisms of anti-tumor action that have yet to be fully elucidated.