Glucarpidase

Glucarpidase (Voraxaze) is a medication used for the treatment of elevated levels of methotrexate (defined as 1 micromol/L) during treatment of cancer patients who have impaired kidney function (and thus cannot reduce the drug to safe levels sufficiently after the drug has been given).

The main antidote for methotrexate overdoses prior to the approval of this drug were high doses of folinic acid.

Glucarpidase, a recombinant form of the bacterial enzyme carboxypeptidase G2 converts methotrexate into glutamate and 2,4-diamino-N(10)-methylpteroic acid.

[3] One case series in children has found that high-dose methotrexate therapy can be resumed after an instance of methotrexate-induced acute kidney injury successfully treated with glucarpidase.

[medical citation needed] In November 2021, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorization under exceptional circumstances for the medicinal product Voraxaze, intended to reduce toxic plasma methotrexate concentration.