Homoharringtonine/Omacetaxine Mepesuccinate: The Long and Winding Road to Food and Drug Administration Approval

Homoharringtonine/omacetaxine is a unique agent with a long history of research development. It has been recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia after failure of 2 or more tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Research with this agent has spanned over 40 years, with many instructive lessons to cancer research, which are summarized in this review.