Plerixafor is a medication used to mobilize hematopoietic stem cells from the bone marrow into the bloodstream for collection and subsequent autologous stem cell transplantation, often in patients with lymphoma or multiple myeloma. It works as a CXCR4 chemokine receptor antagonist, disrupting the interaction between stem cells and the bone marrow niche. Plerixafor was first discovered in the 1990s by biotechnology research aimed at HIV treatments, but its clinical use shifted to stem cell mobilization. It was approved by the FDA in 2008, providing an important option for patients who respond poorly to conventional mobilization with granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) alone.
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