6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), India’s only oral suspension chemotherapy medication, was created jointly by Tata Memorial Centre and IDRS Labs. This medicine is essential for treating Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood blood malignancy.
The first and only syrup-based chemotherapeutic medication in India is 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), produced jointly by Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Centre and IDRS Labs in Bangalore. This medicine is essential for fighting Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood blood malignancy.
About 10,000 ALL-diagnosed children aged 1-10 are predicted to benefit from the treatment annually. The oral suspension solves tablet formulation concerns such dosing precision, flexibility, and tolerability. Tata doctors claimed children in India and other underdeveloped nations didn’t have access to liquid 6-MP, which has been accessible in Europe and the US for years.
PREVALL, a powder for oral suspension, is child-friendly. It can be reconstituted as a 100 ml oral suspension at 10mg/ml, according to Tata doctors.
“Until now, less-than-ideal practices like tablet crushing or alternate day dosing were used to meet children’s specific dosing needs,” said Dr. S D Banavali, director-academics, Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, and a senior paediatric hemato-oncologist.
Banavali explained why it’s a game changer: normal tablets are 50mg, but children need 22ml or 37ml. The medicine had to be taken for 1.5–2 years, therefore underdosing or overdose was possible. We found syrup absorption to be more effective “emphasised.
National pharma regulator CDSCO approved PREVALL. Recently, Tata Memorial Centre, ACTREC, Navi Mumbai, and IDRS Labs published the clinical trial data that led to regulatory approval in Pediatric Blood and Cancer. Tata Hospital introduced the formulation in early December, and all major hospital pharmacies nationwide will shortly carry it.
Professor and chairman of Tata Hospital’s department of paediatric oncology Dr. Girish Chinnaswamy stated formulations like PREVALL will optimize dosing, adherence, and therapeutic efficacy.
PREVALL comes with a syringe and Press In Bottle Adapter (PIBA) for exact dosing based on body weight or surface area. These features reduce spillage and caregiver exposure to harmful substances while ensuring correct dosing.
ACTREC professor of clinical pharmacology Dr. Vikram Gota stated the powder for oral suspension is meant to stabilize the medicine in hot/humid settings and is different from the liquid formulation available elsewhere.
Tata hospitals will collaborate with the startup to create new syrups for pediatric cancer patients.
Conclusion
6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), India’s only oral suspension chemotherapy medication, was created jointly by Tata Memorial Centre and IDRS Labs. This medicine is essential for treating Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood blood malignancy. The oral suspension addresses dose precision, flexibility, and tolerability issues. PREVALL, a child-friendly formulation, can be reconstituted into a 100ml oral suspension at 10mg/ml. The formulation has CDSCO approval and will soon be available in all major hospital pharmacies nationwide. The formulation comes with a syringe and Press In Bottle Adapter (PIBA) for exact dosing based on patient weight or surface area.
