A REVIEW ON THE SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NATURAL CHEMISTRY AND DRUG DISCOVERY

Abstract

The Chemistry of Drug Design and Development plays a pivotal role in modern pharmacology, contributing to the discovery and optimization of therapeutic agents for various diseases. This research paper delves into them intricate interplay between chemical principles and pharmaceutical applications in the design, synthesis, and optimization of drugs. By exploring molecular interactions, structure-activity relationships, and computational methods, this study elucidates the multifaceted strategies employed in drug design to enhance efficacy, selectivity, and safety profiles. Furthermore, the paper discusses the integration of diverse chemical approaches, including medicinal chemistry, organic synthesis, and computational modeling, in the development pipeline, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of modern drug discovery. Although traditionally natural products have played an important role in drug discovery, in the past few years most Big Pharma companies have either terminated or considerably scaled down their natural product operations. This is despite a significant number of natural product-derived drugs being ranked in the top 35 worldwide selling ethical drugs. Recently, there has been a renewed interest in natural product research due to the failure of alternative drug discovery methods to deliver many lead compounds in key therapeuticareas such as immunosuppression, anti-infectives, and metabolic diseases.