Definition

A water soluble, muco-adhesive co-formulation composed of the natural taxane paclitaxel conjugated to the naturally occurring proteoglycan hyaluronic acid, with potential antineoplastic activity. Upon intravesical administration of paclitaxel and hyaluronic acid, HA targets and binds to CD44 expressed on cancer cells. In turn, paclitaxel binds to and stabilizes microtubules, preventing their depolymerization and inhibiting cellular motility, mitosis, and replication in CD44-expressing tumor cells. CD44, a transmembrane glycoprotein and HA receptor expressed in healthy tissue, is overexpressed in a variety of cancer cell types and plays a key role in tumor cell proliferation, migration and survival.