[1] Isolated in 2003[2] it is part of the family of 10 member ringed enediyne antitumor antibiotic agents, which includes: namenamicin, esperamicin and, calicheamicin.

Due to its high potency from cytotoxicity, Shishjimicin A is currently undergoing testing as a possible Antibody-antibiotic Conjugate (ADCs) cancer treatment.

Laboratory tests indicate it to be “more than 1,000 times as toxic to cancer cells as the anticancer drug taxol”,[3] also known as Paclitaxel, a prevalent chemotherapy medication.

Practicality and synthesis variations of the complex molecule are essential to working alongside pharmaceutical companies to develop clinical trials and treatment options.

[2] The unbound linker regions of DNA in the process of interphase and metaphase are open to binding by binders such as shishijimicin A.