Gleevec vs Cabometyx
Both are tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Here is how Gleevec and Cabometyx compare on class, mechanism, dosing, approval and supply.
At a glance
Key differences
- Same class. Both Gleevec and Cabometyx are tyrosine kinase inhibitors, so they work through the same broad mechanism. Differences between them tend to be about dosing, route, how selective they are, and side effects rather than what they target.
- How they are taken. Both are given by the oral route.
- Time on the market. Gleevec was first approved by the FDA in 2001, Cabometyx in 2016. That gives Gleevec roughly 15 more years of real-world use and long-term safety data.
- Who markets them. Gleevec is marketed by Novartis; Cabometyx by Exelixis.
- Same drug, more than one brand. Imatinib is sold as Gleevec / Glivec — the same active ingredient marketed under different brand names, typically for different approved uses or doses.
- Same drug, more than one brand. Cabozantinib is sold as Cabometyx / Cometriq — the same active ingredient marketed under different brand names, typically for different approved uses or doses.
What each one treats
Gleevec is a kinase inhibitor indicated for the treatment of: Newly diagnosed adult and pediatric patients with Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML) in chronic phase. ( 1.1 ) Patients with Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML) in blast crisis (BC), accelerated phase (AP), or in chronic phase (CP) after failure of interferon-alpha therapy. ( 1.2 ) Adult patients with relapsed or refractory Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL). ( 1.3 ) Pediatric patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) in combination with chemotherapy. ( 1.4 ) Adult patients with myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative diseases (MDS/MPD) associated with platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) gene re-arrangements. ( 1.5 ) Adult patients with aggressive systemic mas…
CABOMETYX is a kinase inhibitor indicated for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). ( 1.1 ) patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, as a first-line treatment in combination with nivolumab ( 1.1 ) patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have been previously treated with sorafenib ( 1.2 ) adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older with locally advanced or metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) that has progressed following prior VEGFR-targeted therapy and who are radioactive iodine-refractory or ineligible ( 1.3 ) adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older with previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic, well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET). ( 1.4 ) adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older with previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastat…
How each one works
12.1 Mechanism of Action Imatinib mesylate is a protein-tyrosine kinase inhibitor that inhibits the BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase, the constitutive abnormal tyrosine kinase created by the Philadelphia chromosome abnormality in CML. Imatinib inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in BCR-ABL positive cell lines as well as fresh leukemic cells from Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myeloid leukemia. Imatinib inhibits colony formation in assays using ex vivo peripheral blood and bone marrow samples from CML patients. In vivo, imatinib inhibits tumor growth of BCR-ABL transfected murine myeloid cells as well as BCR-ABL positive leukemia lines derived from CML patients in blast crisis. Ima…
12.1 Mechanism of Action In vitro biochemical and/or cellular assays have shown that cabozantinib inhibits the tyrosine kinase activity of MET, VEGFR-1, -2 and -3, AXL, RET, ROS1, TYRO3, MER, KIT, TRKB, FLT-3, and TIE-2. These receptor tyrosine kinases are involved in both normal cellular function and pathologic processes such as oncogenesis, metastasis, tumor angiogenesis, drug resistance, and maintenance of the tumor microenvironment.
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Which medicine is right for a given person depends on their diagnosis, other conditions, other medicines, kidney and liver function, pregnancy, and cost or reimbursement — none of which this page knows. Two drugs in the same class are not automatically interchangeable. Never start, stop or switch a prescription medicine on the basis of a web page; that decision belongs to you and your clinician or pharmacist.
How this page is built
The facts on this page are pulled directly from official U.S. FDA datasets — they are not written from memory. Each field below names the dataset it came from, so you can check it yourself.
- FDA Drug Label (openFDA) ↗ Indications, mechanism of action and pharmacologic class
- Drugs@FDA ↗ First FDA approval date and the company holding the application
- FDA Drug Shortage Database ↗ Current US supply / shortage status
Plain-English summaries and drug-class explainers are written and reviewed by Sreepriya Prasannan (MSc Digital Transformation of Life Sciences (Innopharma Education / Griffith College); MSc & BSc Botany). Data is retrieved automatically from the sources above and cross-checked with AI-assisted verification (Anthropic's Claude) — brand and generic names are matched against the exact FDA product record so that a combination product or a different formulation cannot be mistaken for the drug on this page. An editor reviews the result before publication. We describe this in full in our editorial standards and corrections policy. The FDA data on this page was last retrieved on 6 Oct 2026. How every register is built: methodology · fixes we have made: corrections log.