Paclitaxel (PTX) is one of the three most widely used chemotherapeutic agents, together with doxorubicin and cisplatin, and is first or second line treatment for several types of cancers. In 2000, Taxol, the conventional formulation of PTX, became the best-selling cancer drug of all time with annual sales of 1.6 billion. In 2005, the introduction of the albumin-based formulation of PTX, known as Abraxane, ended Taxol's monopoly of the PTX market. Abraxane's ability to push the Taxol innovator and generic formulations aside attracted fierce competition amongst competitors worldwide to develop their own unique, new and improved formulation of PTX. At this time there are at least 18 companies focused on pre-clinical and/or clinical development of nano-formulations of PTX. These pharmaceutical companies are investing substantial capital to capture a share of the lucrative global PTX market. It is hoped that any formulation that dominates the market will result in tangible benefits to patients in terms of both survival and quality of life. Given all of this activity, here we address the question: Who is going to win the battle of “nano” paclitaxel?

紫杉醇（PTX）与阿霉素和顺铂一起是三种最广泛使用的化学治疗剂之一，并且是针对多种类型癌症的一线或二线治疗方法。2000年，传统的PTX制剂紫杉醇成为有史以来最畅销的抗癌药物，年销售额达16亿美元。2005年，基于白蛋白的PTX制剂（称为Abraxane）的推出，终止了紫杉醇对PTX市场的垄断。Abraxane将紫杉醇创新药和通用配方推到一边的能力吸引了全球竞争者之间激烈的竞争，以开发自己独特，新颖和改进的PTX配方。目前，至少有18家公司专注于PTX纳米制剂的临床前和/或临床开发。这些制药公司正在投入大量资金，以占领利润丰厚的全球PTX市场的一部分。希望在市场上占主导地位的任何制剂都能为患者带来生存和生活质量方面的切实利益。鉴于所有这些活动，我们在这里解决一个问题：谁将赢得“纳米”紫杉醇之战？