Drug development from marine natural products.
Drug discovery from marine natural products has enjoyed a renaissance in the past few years. Ziconotide (Prialt; Elan Pharmaceuticals), a peptide originally discovered in a tropical cone snail, was the first marine-derived compound to be approved in the United States in December 2004 for the treatment of pain. Then, in October 2007, trabectedin (Yondelis; PharmaMar) became the first marine anticancer drug to be approved in the European Union. Here, we review the history of drug discovery from marine natural products, and by describing selected examples, we examine the factors that contribute to new discoveries and the difficulties associated with translating marine-derived compounds into clinical trials. Providing an outlook into the future, we also examine the advances that may further expand the promise of drugs from the sea.
Molinski
Tadeusz F
TF
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0358, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. tmolinski@ucsd.edu
Dalisay
Doralyn S
DS
Lievens
Sarah L
SL
Saludes
Jonel P
JP
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001688:Biological Products / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D055808:Drug Discovery; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D006801:Humans; D008386:Marine Biology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001688:Biological Products