Volume 2 • Issue 2 • 1000e106 J Marine Sci Res Development ISSN:2155-9910 JMSRD an open access journal Open Access Editorial Liu, J Marine Sci Res Development 2012, 2:2 DOI: 10.4172/2155-9910.1000e106 *Corresponding author: Yonghong Liu, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, People’s Republic of China, E-mail: [email protected] Received April 17, 2012; Accepted April 18, 2012; Published April 21, 2012 Citation: Liu Y (2012) Renaissance of Marine Natural Product Drug Discovery and Development. J Marine Sci Res Development 2:e106. doi:10.4172/2155- 9910.1000e106 Copyright: © 2012 Liu Y. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Renaissance of Marine Natural Product Drug Discovery and Development Yonghong Liu* Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, People’s Republic of China e marine environment has been shown to be the source of chemical diversity structures with promising biological activities. Besides the chemical novelty associated with those compounds, some of them possess novel mechanisms of action as well. To date, eight marine drugs have been approved by the FDA or EMEA registered, they are Cephalosporin C, Cytarabine (Ara-C), Vidrabine (Ara-A), Ziconotide (Prialt), omega-3-acid ethyl esters (Lovaza), ET-743 (Yondelis), E7389 (Halaven), Brentuximab vendotin (SGN-35) [1,2] showed in Figure 1. ese success stories have had to overcome difficulties inherent to marine natural products-derived drugs, such as sustainable source and issues related to structural complexity. Nevertheless, five marine- derived agents are now approved, most as “first-in-class” drugs. Additionally, there is abundant pipeline of clinical and preclinical marine compounds to suggest their continued application in human medicine. e solidness of the marine pharmaceuticals pipeline is evident, clinical trials with Soblidotin (TZT 1027), Tasidotin, Synthadotin (ILX-651), Bryostatin 1, Hemiasterilin (E7974), and Pseudopterosin have been completed, a compound (Plitidepsin) in Phase III trials, six compounds (DMXBA(GTS-21), Plinabulin (NPI 2358), PM00104, Elisidepsin, PM01183, CDX-011) in Phase II trials, and four compounds (Marizomib (Salinosporamide A; NPI-0052), PM060184, SGN-75, ASG-5ME) in Phase I trials have been processed with multitudinous marine natural products being investigated preclinical as clinical candidates. e global marine preclinical pharmaceutical pipeline remains very active. During the period 1998-2008, the global marine pharmaceutical preclinical pipeline included 592 marine natural products that showed antitumor and cytotoxic activity, and 666 additional chemicals which demonstrated other pharmacological activities (i.e. antibacterial, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, anthelmintic, antiplatelet, antiprotozoal, and antiviral activities;) with actions on the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, and nervous systems; and other miscellaneous mechanisms of action [3]. e unexplored marine organisms harbors the most biological and chemical diversity, it is the vastest resource to discover novel structures (to date, more than 21855 compounds were discovered [4]) with novel modes of action. In order to conduct preclinical and clinical trials and further develop a promising lead into a marketed drug, sustainable supply is necessary. e continuous supply problem is the major challenge for marine natural product drug discovery and development. However, modern approaches are available to overcome the obstacles. Proceedings in technologies such as sampling strategies, nanoscale NMR for structure determination, total chemical synthesis, fermentation, and biotechnology are all crucial to the success of marine natural products as drug leads. e high degree of innovation in the field of marine natural products, will lead to a new wave resurgence of new drugs in the coming future [5]. e potential of marine natural products to become new drugs is still on the horizon. With the prominent development of more marine natural products from the current pipeline, the contribution of marine natural products to the future pharmaceuticals seems to be prospecting. New technologies and efficient collaborations between multidisciplinary scientists will be essential to ensure the future success of marine natural products as new therapeutic chemical entities that can make a significant contribution to the cure of human disease. References 1. Mayer AMS, Glaser KB, Cuevas C, Jacobs RS, Kem W, et al. (2010) The odyssey of marine pharmaceuticals: a current pipeline perspective. Trends Pharmacol Sci 31: 255-265. N N O O OAc H O O OH NH MeO HO S H OMe HO H ET-743 EU registered 2007 Cancer Tunicate N N NH2 O OH H O H H HO H OH Cytarabine, Ara-C FDA Approval 1969 Cancer Sponge N OH H O H H HO H OH Vidrabine, Ara-A FDA Approval 1976 Antiviral Sponge N N N NH 2 Cys-Lys-Gly-Lys-Gly-Ala H Cys-Arg-Ser-Gly-Lys-Cys-OH Ser-Gly-Thr-Cys-Cys-Asp-Tyr-Met-Leu-Arg-Ser-Cys-Lys Ziconotide FDA Approval 2004 Pain Cone snail O O O H 3 CO HO 3 SH 2 CH 2 N HO H H O O O O O H H E-7389 FDA Approval 2010 Cancer Sponge Cephalosporin C FDA Approval 1961 Antibiotics Fungus HO H N O NH 2 O N S H O O O O O N O N O O O N H O N O H N O O OH Cit MAB-Val- 3-5 Brentuximab vendotin FDA Approval 2011 Cancer Mollusk EtO O EtO O EPA:DHA:esterified fish oils = 47:38:17 FDA Approval 2004 Hypertriglyceridemia Fish Figure 1: Chemical structures, biological source, and treatment usage of marine natural products or derivatives thereof approved for use by the FDA or EMEA. Journal of Marine Science: Research & Development J o u r n a l o f M a r i n e S c i e n c e : R e s e a r c h & D e v e l o p m e n t ISSN: 2155-9910