Natural product scaffolds as leads to drugs
David J Newman1, Gordon M Cragg
1Natural Products Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program, NCI-Frederick, MD 21702, USA. dn22a@nih.gov
Abstract:
Numerous 'scaffolds' that have been identified in natural product structures have led to very significant numbers of approved drugs and drug candidates for a multiplicity of diseases over the years. In this mini-review, we discuss the base scaffolds (chemical skeletons) that we feel have produced very significant numbers of agents as drugs or drug leads and, in a number of cases, compounds that can be used as chemical synthons or that present activities in biological areas that were not obvious from their earlier history.
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