The World Health Organization's ATC classification organizes medical drugs based on therapeutic properties, chemical composition, and anatomy. It helps make essential medicines readily available globally and is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry.
| Level | Code | Title | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | L | Antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents | |
| 2 | L01 | Antineoplastic agents | |
| 3 | L01X | Other antineoplastic agents | |
| 4 | L01XD | Sensitizers used in photodynamic/radiation therapy | |
| 5 | L01XD03 | Methyl aminolevulinate |
| Active Ingredient | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Methyl aminolevulinate |
Methyl aminolevulinate is a prodrug that is metabolized to protoporphyrin. After topical application of methyl aminolevulinate, porphyrins accumulate intracellularly in the treated skin lesions. The intracellular porphyrins (including PpIX) are photoactive, fluorescing compounds and, upon light activation in the presence of oxygen, singlet oxygen is formed which causes damage to cellular compartments, in particular the mitochondria. Light activation of accumulated porphyrins leads to a photochemical reaction and thereby phototoxicity to the light-exposed target cells. |
| Title | Information Source | Document Type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| METVIX Cream | Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (GB) | MPI, EU: SmPC |
Note the following: The list of brand names is continuously updated, and thus does not include the total of products circulating worldwide.
