Title:Anticancer Drug Discovery from the Marine Environment
Volume: 7
Issue: 2
Author(s): Candida Nastrucci, Alfredo Cesario and Patrizia Russo
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Anticancer therapy, clinical trials cancer, human diseases, marine drugs, mechanism of action, multitargets, patent
Abstract: Discovery, isolation, biochemical/pharmacological characterization, pre-clinical and clinical trials of drugs derived
from the marine environment are continuously developing and increasing. One of the most promising area is cancer
therapy. Currently, there are two drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Agency for
the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMA) in cancer treatment, namely Cytarabine (Cytosar-U1®) and Eribulin (E7389
or Halaven®). Trabectedin (ET-743 or Yondelis1®), approved by EMA, is completing key Phase III studies in the U.S. for
final approval. It was estimated that 118 marine natural products (MNPs) are currently in preclinical trials, 22 MNPs in
clinical trials and 3 MNPs on the market. The characteristics and selectivity profiles of new drugs for cancer therapy, as
well as drugs disclosed in related patent applications, will be the focus of this review, providing a brief and ready to use
reference.
