Natural Product Based library
Historically, natural products have been pharma’s treasure trove. According to the Natural Products Library Initiative at the Scripps Research Institute, “from 1940s to date, 131 (74.8%) out of 175 small molecule anticancer drugs are natural product-based/inspired, with 85 (48.6%) being either natural products or derived therefrom. From 1981 to date, 79 (80%) out of 99 small molecule anticancer drugs are natural product-based/inspired, with 53 (53%) being either natural products or derived therefrom.”In a sense, this is not surprising. In nature, after all, creatures – and at the more basic level, structures, such as receptors and their ligands – have been co-evolving for billions of years.
Natural products as well as their derivatives continue to play a significant role in the discovery of new approved therapies, as they have done since the earliest days of medicinal research. Natural products have proven successful modulators of difficult targets such as a range of antibacterial targets and, especially, protein–protein interactions. Furthermore, many researchers consider natural products and their derivatives as a privileged tools for the study and manipulation of protein function.
Natural products as well as their derivatives continue to play a significant role in the discovery of new approved therapies, as they have done since the earliest days of medicinal research. Natural products have proven successful modulators of difficult targets such as a range of antibacterial targets and, especially, protein–protein interactions. Furthermore, many researchers consider natural products and their derivatives as a privileged tools for the study and manipulation of protein function.