Cited by 4,687Microbial Natural Products and BiosynthesisBioactive natural compoundsHistorical Medical Research and Treatments

Natural products as sources of new drugs over the 30 years from 1981 to 2010

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Newman, David J., Cragg, Gordon M.·2012·Journal of Natural Products

Abstract

This review is an updated and expanded version of the three prior reviews that were published in this journal in 1997, 2003, and 2007. In the case of all approved therapeutic agents, the time frame has been extended to cover the 30 years from January 1, 1981, to December 31, 2010, for all diseases worldwide, and from 1950 (earliest so far identified) to December 2010 for all approved antitumor drugs worldwide. We have continued to utilize our secondary subdivision of a "natural product mimic" or "NM" to join the original primary divisions and have added a new designation, "natural product botanical" or "NB", to cover those botanical "defined mixtures" that have now been recognized as drug entities by the FDA and similar organizations. From the data presented, the utility of natural products as sources of novel structures, but not necessarily the final drug entity, is still alive and well. Thus, in the area of cancer, over the time frame from around the 1940s to date, of the 175 small molecules, 131, or 74.8%, are other than "S" (synthetic), with 85, or 48.6%, actually being either natural products or directly derived therefrom. In other areas, the influence of natural product structures is quite marked, with, as expected from prior information, the anti-infective area being dependent on natural products and their structures. Although combinatorial chemistry techniques have succeeded as methods of optimizing structures and have been used very successfully in the optimization of many recently approved agents, we are able to identify only one de novo combinatorial compound approved as a drug in this 30-year time frame. We wish to draw the attention of readers to the rapidly evolving recognition that a significant number of natural product drugs/leads are actually produced by microbes and/or microbial interactions with the "host from whence it was isolated", and therefore we consider that this area of natural product research should be expanded significantly.

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  • A significant number of marine-derived metabolites act as antitumor agents via potent growth inhibition of human tumor cells both in vitro, in vivo (in murine) models and in cancer clinical trials.

    “A significant number of marine-derived metabolites act as antitumor agents via potent growth inhibition of human tumor cells both in vitro, in vivo (in murine) models and in cancer clinical trials [13,17].”

    From Marine Natural Products: A Source of Novel Anticancer Drugs (2019) · cites this paper as [13]

    The Results (Overview of Results; page unavailable) identify natural-product-derived antitumor drugs, including halichondrin B-derived eribulin, and the Discussion mentions marine natural products. The copy does not establish that a significant number of marine-derived metabolites potently inhibit human tumor-cell growth in vitro, in murine models, and in cancer clinical trials. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Approximately 80% of the approved chemotherapeutic drugs are based on bioactive natural products.

    “Approximately 80% of the approved chemotherapeutic drugs [13], and more than half of all drugs are based on bioactive natural products [14].”

    From Marine Natural Products: A Source of Novel Anticancer Drugs (2019) · cites this paper as [13]

    The Results (Overview of Results) report that 79 of 99 small-molecule anticancer drugs approved from 1981 to 2010 (79.8%) were natural products, based on them, or mimicked them. The claim rounds this to 80% but applies it to approved chemotherapeutic drugs generally, without the paper’s small-molecule and time-frame limits, and describes mimics as based on natural products. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • More than 35% of new drugs available on the market during the last 30 years have a direct natural origin; this percentage rises to over 60% if drugs whose structure is inspired by a natural pharmacophore are included.

    “A recent review reporting the new drugs available on the market during the last 30 years showed that more than 35% of these new drugs have a direct natural origin. This percentage rises to over 60% if we take into account all the drugs whose structure is inspired by a natural pharmacophore (Newman and Cragg, 2012).”

    From Cannabis sativa: The Plant of the Thousand and One Molecules (2016) · cites this paper as Newman and Cragg, 2012

    The Results (Overview of Results; page unavailable) report a 36.5% mean for natural-product-linked small-molecule approvals in 2000–2010, excluding natural-product-inspired classifications. That supports the general distinction between direct and inspired drugs, but not the claim that more than 35% applies across the full 30 years. The Results say readers may calculate a figure including inspired structures; our copy does not state the claimed over-60% figure. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 48

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Authors
Newman, D. J., & Cragg, G. M.
Affiliations
National Institutes of Health (US)
Corresponding author
Newman, David J.
Venue
Journal of Natural Products
Published
2012-02-08
Volume
75
Issue
3
Pages
311-335
ISSN
  • 0163-3864 (ISSN-L)
  • 1520-6025
OpenAlex
W1992716708
Cited by
4,687
References
125
Citations by year
2026: 71 · 2025: 143 · 2024: 201 · 2023: 217 · 2022: 256 · 2021: 315 · 2020: 351 · 2019: 335 · 2018: 322 · 2017: 428 · 2016: 530 · 2015: 583 · 2014: 485 · 2013: 333 · 2012: 108
FWCI
54.52
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Natural Products (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (Z99 CA999999)
  • National Cancer Institute (Y99 CA999999)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bioactive natural compounds
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Historical Medical Research and Treatments
Keywords
natural products, drug discovery, approved drugs, anticancer agents, combinatorial chemistry, anti-infective agents, microbial natural products, host-microbe interactions, drug leads
MeSH terms
Biological Products, Pharmacology, Research, Molecular Structure, Drug Approval, Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques, History, 20th Century, History, 21st Century

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