This invention is in the field of chemical restructuring of pharmaceutical agents known to cause tissue toxicity as a side effect, by producing their orotate derivatives. More particularly, it concerns orotate derivatives of the anthracyclines, doxorubicin and daunorubicin, that are found to reduce levels of the pharmaceutical agent in noncancerous tissues. There orotate derivatives are equally efficacious in inhibiting the SCCAKI-I kidney tumor in animals and the reduction in the heart tissue of doxorubicin compared with doxorubicin HC1 suggests a reduction in toxicity induced by free radical generation by the anthracyclines.
