Irofulven – Halloween Trick or a Beacon of Light

The history of Irofulven, MGI Pharma’s novel anti-tumor drugcandidate, unfolds like a suspense story. It involves toxins, great expectations and crushed hopes, and a promise for a better future. The journey of Irofulven from a natural toxin isolated from a mushroom to a chemotherapeutic drug has involved people and places that have influenced American mycology in the 20th century, and has left its mark on mycological taxonomy. In 2001, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted fast track status to the novel anti-tumor drug-candidate Irofulven (also known as hydroxymethylacylfulvene, HMAF, and MGI-114). Irofulven is a chemically modified version of the fungal toxin Illudin S. It is a DNA-alkylating agent that has an unusual mechanism. Irofulven is a DNA and protein-damaging agent that tar-