Romidepsin, also known as Istodax,  is an anticancer agent used in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and other peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs). Romidepsin is a natural product obtained from the bacterium Chromobacterium violaceum, and works by blocking enzymes known as histone deacetylases, thus inducing apoptosis. It is sometimes referred to as depsipeptide, after the class of molecules to which it belongs. Romidepsin is branded and owned by Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, now a part of Celgene. History
Romidepsin was first reported in the scientific literature in 1994, by a team of researchers from Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Company (now Astellas Pharma) in Tsukuba, Japan, who isolated it in a culture of Chromobacterium violaceum from a soil sample obtained in Yamagata Prefecture. It was found to have little to no antibacterial activity, but was potently cytotoxic against several human cancer cell lines, with no effect on normal cells; studies on mice later found it to have antitumor activity in vivo as well.The first total synthesis of romidepsin was accomplished by Harvard researchers and published in 1996. Its mechanism of action was elucidated in 1998, when researchers from Fujisawa and the University of Tokyo found it to be a histone deacetylase inhibitor with effects similar to those of trichostatin A. Clinical trials
Phase I studies of romidepsin, initially codenamed FK228 and FR901228, began in 1997. Phase II and phase III trials were conducted for a variety of indications.
CMS prevalence rates reported from the study are summarised below:

Ethiopia [3600–4100 m]: 0%
Tibetan Plateau (Tibetans): 0.91–1.2%
Indian Himalayas [3000–4200 m]: 4–7%
Kyrgyzstan [3000–4200 m]: 4.6%
Tibetan Plateau (Han Chinese): 5.6%
La Paz, Bolivia [3600 m]: 6% to 8%
Bolivia: 8–10%
Cerro de Pasco, Peru [4300 m]: 14.8–18.2%

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^  Online calculator illustrating blood oxygen carrying capacity at altitude