Pharmacologically active metabolites of currently marketed drugs: potential resources for new drug discovery and
Myung Joo Kang1, Woo Heon Song, Byung Ho Shim
1Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea.
Abstract:
Biotransformation is the major clearance mechanism of therapeutic agents from the body. Biotransformation is known not only to facilitate the elimination of drugs by changing the molecular structure to more hydrophilic, but also lead to pharmacological inactivation of therapeutic compounds. However, in some cases, the biotransformation of drugs can lead to the generation of pharmacologically active metabolites, responsible for the pharmacological actions. This review provides an update of the kinds of pharmacologically active metabolites and some of their individual pharmacological and pharmacokinetic aspects, and describes their importance as resources for drug discovery and development.
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