By so doing it induces cell differentiation and apoptosis and prevents the development of drug resistance. It also has anti-angiogenic effects and inhibits cancer metastasis. The retinoic acid receptors (RARs) regulate cell differentiation and proliferation whereas RXRs regulate apoptosis. Physical properties
Bexarotene is a solid, white powder. It is poorly soluble in water; the solubility is estimated to be about 10-50 μM. It is soluble in DMSO at 65 mg/mL and in ethanol at 10 mg/mL with warming. History
SRI International and the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation (now the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute) collaborated on work that resulted in patent filings for the drug.The developer of bexarotene (brand name Targretin) was Ligand Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego biotech company which received FDA approval for the drug in 1999. The FDA approved bexarotene on 29 December 1999.Japanese pharmaceutical Eisai bought the rights to Targretin and three other anti-cancer products from Ligand in 2006. In the United States, patents on the drug expired in 2016.It received EMA approval on 29 March 2001.Early-stage preclinical studies suggested that bexarotene reduced amyloid plaques and improved mental functioning in a small sample of mice engineered to exhibit Alzheimers-like symptoms   although subsequent studies have yielded mixed results.The results of CCMR-One, a clinical trial of the effects of bexarotene on patients with multiple sclerosis operated by the University of Cambridge, have shown that the drug can cause remyelination, but will not lead to the drug being used as a therapy, due to its risk profile. References
External links
"Bexarotene". Drug Information Portal.
U.S. National Library of Medicine.