Mohammed Rashwan

Coventry University, UK

Title: Prodrugs in Drug Discovery

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Biography

Awarded an MSc in Pharmacology and Drug Discovery with distinction from Coventry university. In both my bachelor and masters, I have focused on the potential chemopreventive properties of three different subclasses of flavonoids on breast cancer cell lines. My humble time (10 weeks between both degrees) in research have taught me how to utilize different assays to determine the potential of the chemical to inhibit cancer development & progression. I plan on going into research and working closely in drug discovery.

Abstract

In the past, prodrugs were considered a last resort strategy to improve the available therapies at the time. Prodrugs are now an essential aspect considered at drug research and development initiation stages. 10% of the drugs available on the market are prodrugs. Around 15% of all newly FDA approved drugs in the last decade were prodrugs, becoming a potentially effective solution to over physicochemical hurdles. The insight into prodrugs shows a promising glimpse of the drug development pipeline. Prodrugs are bioreversible, inactive derivatives that enhance a parent drug's biopharmaceutic, pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic profile. Although prodrugs are a new chemical entity, they are still favourable to novel drugs. They require less financial backing, cutting down on time consumed and overall efforts on the project. Here, we will discuss the different strategies employed to design a favourable drug, investigating different examples of prodrugs and their pharmaceutical properties & challenges that need to be considered.