title: Polypharmacology in a single drug: multitarget drugs.
abstract: Polypharmacology offers a model for the way drug discovery must evolve to develop therapies most suited to treating currently incurable diseases. It is driven by a worldwide demand for safer, more effective, and affordable medicines against the most complex diseases, and by the failures of modern drug discovery to provide these. Polypharmacology can involve combinations and/or multitarget drugs (MTD). Although not mutually exclusive, my premise is that MTDs have inherent advantages over combinations. This review article focuses on MTDs from a medicinal chemistry perspective. I will explore their use in current clinical practice, their likely application in the future, and the challenges to be overcome to achieve this goal.
authors: Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro, 6, 40126 Bologna, Italy. marialaura.bolognesi@unibo.it
authors: M L
authors: ML
authors: Bolognesi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004338:Drug Combinations; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000379:methods*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D006801:Humans; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000191:economics
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations