Fibrosis--a review of recent patent literature

This review covers recent patent literature for fibrosis for the period 1996 to 2001. Fibrosis related-diseases remain the number one killer in the world, accounting for more than 45% of entire mortality, but there are currently no adequate therapies for most fibrotic conditions. In recent years, however, antifibrotic therapeutics have rapidly progressed following the re-investigation of existing agents that are biologically relevant to the course of fibrosis, the discovery of new targets and the reinstitution of old validated targets. The rapid progress in assay development, recombinant protein production and combinatorial chemistry has allowed more new antifibrotic agents to emerge.