In 1974, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved doxorubicin (Adriamycin), an antitumor anthracycline antibiotic from Streptomyces bacteria.

Doxorubicin hydrochloride is a type of chemotherapy drug called an anthracycline. It blocks an enzyme called topoisomerase II, which cuts and repairs tangled strands of DNA. This stops or slows the growth of cancer cells and other rapidly dividing cells.