Natural Product Drug Discovery

For most of Nature's flora and fauna, the struggle for survival is waged at the molecular level. Over the ages this intense, unending competition has provided an abundance of small organic molecules with a biological potency and structural diversity as yet unrivalled by the best efforts and imaginations of scientists. Mankind has harnessed this chemistry to provide drugs that have revolutionised clinical practice and which represent some of the most important sources of anti-infective, cholesterol-lowering, immunosuppressant and anti-cancer medicines. More than 40% of the largest-selling pharmaceuticals on the market today are derived from naturally occurring compounds, including four antibiotics with peak annual sales of well over US$ 1billion (Augmentin ©, Zithromax ©, Biaxin © and Rocephin ©).

It is clear that the requirement of the drug industry to discover much needed lead compounds will rely on the effective integration of complementary technologies, including natural compound discovery, high throughput screening, combinatorial chemistry and rational drug design. With its extensive sample collection, high throughput screening and chemistry resources, MerLion Pharma is positioned to be at the forefront of natural product-based drug discovery activities.