Cited by 579Click Chemistry and ApplicationsProtein Degradation and InhibitorsComputational Drug Discovery Methods

Covalent inhibitors in drug discovery: from accidental discoveries to avoided liabilities and designed therapies

Bauer, Renato A.·2015·Drug Discovery Today

Abstract

Drugs that covalently bond to their biological targets have a long history in drug discovery. A look at drug approvals in recent years suggests that covalent drugs will continue to make impacts on human health for years to come. Although fraught with concerns about toxicity, the high potencies and prolonged effects achievable with covalent drugs may result in less-frequent drug dosing and in wide therapeutic margins for patients. Covalent inhibition can also dissociate drug pharmacodynamics (PD) from pharmacokinetics (PK), which can result in desired drug efficacy for inhibitors that have short systemic exposure. Evidence suggests that there is a reduced risk for the development of resistance against covalent drugs, which is a major challenge in areas such as oncology and infectious disease.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.drudis.2015.05.005

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  • Covalent inhibitors have the advantage of sustained inhibition and a longer residence time compared to non-covalent inhibitors because the covalently bound target is continuously inhibited until protein degradation and regeneration.

    “Hence, covalent inhibitors have the advantage of sustained inhibition and a longer residence time compared to non-covalent inhibitors because the covalently bound target is continuously inhibited until protein degradation and regeneration.28”
  • Covalent inhibitors bind to amino acid residues of target proteins through covalent bonds formed by mildly reactive functional groups to confer additional affinity compared to non-covalent inhibitors.

    “Covalent inhibitors, also known as irreversible inhibitors, are a class of inhibitors that bind to amino acid residues of target proteins through covalent bonds formed by mildly reactive functional groups to confer additional affinity, compared to that of non-covalent inhibitors, which achieve binding and inhibition of target proteins through non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bond and van”

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Authors
Bauer, R. A.
Affiliations
Eli Lilly (United States) (US)
Corresponding author
Bauer, Renato A.
Venue
Drug Discovery Today
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015-09
Volume
20
Issue
9
Pages
1061-1073
ISSN
1359-6446 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W248383993
Cited by
534
References
97
Citations by year
2026: 36 · 2025: 43 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 56 · 2022: 57 · 2021: 70 · 2020: 57 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 47 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 8
FWCI
1.90
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Drug Discovery Today (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Organic Chemistry › Click Chemistry and Applications
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Degradation and Inhibitors
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computational Theory and Mathematics › Computational Drug Discovery Methods
Keywords
covalent inhibitors, covalent drug design, history of drug discovery, drug toxicity, drug resistance, oncology therapeutics, infectious disease therapeutics, therapeutic window
MeSH terms
Drug Resistance, Pharmaceutical Preparations, Humans, Pharmacokinetics, Drug Design, Drug Approval, Drug Discovery, Molecular Targeted Therapy

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