Article Overview
Abstract
Pharmacological research has evolved considerably with the integration of natural products, synthetic therapeutics, and combination drug strategies to improve therapeutic efficacy, safety, and patient outcomes. Natural products remain an essential source of bioactive compounds with diverse pharmacological activities, while synthetic drugs offer precise molecular targeting, improved pharmacokinetics, and scalability in production. Recently, combination drug strategies have gained significant attention due to their ability to enhance therapeutic effectiveness, reduce drug resistance, and minimize adverse effects. Advances in biotechnology, computational drug design, and systems pharmacology have facilitated the development of innovative therapeutic approaches that integrate these three domains. This review highlights current progress in pharmacological research, focusing on natural product-derived compounds, synthetic drug innovations, and rational combination therapies. The challenges, opportunities, and future perspectives in integrative pharmacology are also discussed to provide insights into next-generation therapeutic development.
Keywords: Pharmacological Research, Natural Products, Synthetic Therapeutics, Combination Therapy, Drug Discovery, Integrative Pharmacology, Personalized Medicine, Drug Resistance.
Reference
- Atanasov, A. G., Zotchev, S. B., Dirsch, V. M., & Supuran, C. T. (2021). Natural products in drug discovery: Advances and opportunities. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 20(3), 200–216.
- Bai, J. P. F., & Abernethy, D. R. (2023). Systems pharmacology and translational science in drug development. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 113(1), 17–28.
- Basile, A., & Rigano, D. (2022). Natural product research in modern drug discovery. Phytochemistry Reviews, 21(2), 481–504.
- Chan, H. S., Shan, H., Dahoun, T., Vogel, H., & Yuan, S. (2022). Advancing drug discovery via artificial intelligence. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 43(9), 681–696.
- Chen, Y., Liu, X., & Nguyen, K. (2023). Combination therapies in modern pharmacology: Opportunities and safety challenges. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 14, 1187423.
- Cragg, G. M., & Pezzuto, J. M. (2016). Natural products as a vital source for drug discovery. American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 44(1), 1–20.
- Ekins, S., Puhl, A. C., Zorn, K. M., Lane, T. R., Russo, D. P., Klein, J. J., & Hickey, A. J. (2019). Exploiting AI for drug discovery. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 18(6), 435–454.
- Ferreira, L. G., Dos Santos, R. N., Oliva, G., & Andricopulo, A. D. (2015). Molecular docking and structure-based drug design strategies. Molecules, 20(7), 13384–13421.
- Fridman, W. H., Zitvogel, L., Sautès-Fridman, C., & Kroemer, G. (2017). The immune contexture in cancer prognosis and therapy. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, 14(12), 717–734.
- Hughes, J. P., Rees, S., Kalindjian, S. B., & Philpott, K. L. (2011). Principles of early drug discovery. British Journal of Pharmacology, 162(6), 1239–1249.
- Kola, I., & Landis, J. (2004). Can the pharmaceutical industry reduce attrition rates? Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 3(8), 711–716.
- Makurvet, F. D. (2021). Biologics vs small molecules in drug development. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 110(1), 38–46.
- Moffat, J. G., Rudolph, J., & Bailey, D. (2014). Phenotypic drug discovery. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 13(8), 588–602.
- Mullard, A. (2024). Trends in drug approvals and development pipelines. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 23, 87–90.
- Paul, S. M., Mytelka, D. S., Dunwiddie, C. T., Persinger, C. C., Munos, B. H., Lindborg, S. R., & Schacht, A. L. (2010). Improving R&D productivity. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 9(3), 203–214.
- Pushpakom, S., Iorio, F., Eyers, P. A., Escott, K. J., Hopper, S., Wells, A., … Pirmohamed, M. (2019). Drug repurposing progress. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 18(1), 41–58.
- Rodrigues, T., Reker, D., Schneider, P., & Schneider, G. (2016). Counting on natural products. Nature Chemistry, 8(6), 531–541.
- Schork, N. J. (2015). Personalized medicine: Time for one-person trials. Nature, 520(7549), 609–611.
- Sliwoski, G., Kothiwale, S., Meiler, J., & Lowe, E. W. (2014). Computational drug discovery methods. Pharmacological Reviews, 66(1), 334–395.
- Topol, E. J. (2019). High-performance medicine and AI convergence. Nature Medicine, 25(1), 44–56.
- Van Norman, G. A. (2016). Drugs, devices, and FDA regulatory pathways. JACC: Basic to Translational Science, 1(6), 399–412.
- Vasan, N., Baselga, J., & Hyman, D. M. (2019). Precision oncology advances. Nature, 575(7781), 299–309.
- Waring, M. J., Arrowsmith, J., Leach, A. R., Leeson, P. D., Mandrell, S., Owen, R. M., … Weir, A. (2015). Causes of attrition in drug development. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 14(7), 475–486.