RESUMEN
Desde siempre, el ser humano buscó una explicación a los fenómenos y una solución a sus males. El instinto fue quien primero guió al hombre para buscar remedios con los que aliviar sus males lamiendo o limpiando sus heridas. Mediante el método de "ensayo-error", el hombre prehistórico fue encontrando plantas y sustancias minerales que resultaban eficaces. En la Edad Media y el Mundo Moderno, la medicina Hippocrático-galénica tuvo, en relación a la terapéutica, a Dioscórides como el gran referente Con el decurso de los años, científicos como Pasteur, Koch, Cantani, Emmerich, Low, Tiberio, sentaron las bases para que más tarde otros como Freudenreich, Domagk, Fleming, Waksman, entre otros, descubrieran y perfeccionaran la amplia gama de antibióticos que hoy conocemos. A pesar de estos avances, en la actualidad se observan múltiples mecanismos de resistencia bacteriana que ponen en peligro la eficacia antibiótica (AU).
The human beings have always looked for an explanation to the phenomena and a solution to his misfortunes. Firstly the instinct was what guided the man to look for remedies to alleviate his ills licking or cleaning his wounds. By means of the "trial-error" method, the prehistoric man was finding plants and mineral substances that were effective. In the Middle Ages and the Modern World, the Hippocratic-galenic medicine took Dioscorides as the great referent in relation to therapeutic. As the years went by, scientist like Pasteur, Koch, Cantani, Emmerich, Low, Tiberio, set the bases for Freudenreich, Domagk, Fleming, Waksman among others to discover and improve the wide range antibiotics known today. In spite of these advances, multiple mechanisms of bacterial resistance putting in danger antibiotic effectiveness are observed today (AU).
Asunto(s)
Humanos , Evolución Clínica , Historia de la Farmacia , Antibacterianos/historia , Farmacorresistencia Microbiana , Descubrimiento de Drogas/historia , Historia de la MedicinaRESUMEN
This manuscript describes the role of natural products in the process of drug discovery. In fact, several different natural compounds have been used as inspiration to develop new drugs. Some relevant examples are presented in chronological order.
Asunto(s)
Biodiversidad , Productos Biológicos/química , Química Farmacéutica/historia , Descubrimiento de Drogas/historia , Productos Biológicos/historia , Historia del Siglo XX , HumanosRESUMEN
The global medicine market is about 1.1 trillion US dollars. About 35 percent of medicines have originated from natural products. Brazil presents the largest biodiversity in the world, with more than 50,000 species of higher plants. However, few innovative products have been developed in Brazil from active constituents derived from the Brazilian biodiversity. Scientific evidences on plants and venoms have been internationally published by Brazilian scientists over the last 4 decades; but few examples of innovative products are commercially available. Few examples include the anti-hypertensive drug captopril first identified in the venom of the Brazilian viper Bothrops jararaca by Professor Sergio Ferreira; and some phytotherapeutic agents such as Acheflan®, Syntocalmy® and Melagrião® produced by standardized plant extracts with scientific proof of safety, efficacy and quality. Still, only Acheflan® and Melagrião® are obtained from native Brazilian plants. Several issues contribute to the lack of innovative products from the Brazilian biodiversity, but in my opinion, the most challenging ones are i) the lack of specific regulations to allow researchers and companies to access biodiversity for the purposes of scientific and technological innovation; and ii) the absence of a long-term government program to support research and innovation in this field.
Asunto(s)
Biodiversidad , Productos Biológicos , Cosméticos , Descubrimiento de Drogas , Plantas Medicinales , Animales , Productos Biológicos/historia , Brasil , Descubrimiento de Drogas/historia , Descubrimiento de Drogas/legislación & jurisprudencia , Historia del Siglo XX , Historia del Siglo XXI , HumanosRESUMEN
On January 15, 2015, Carl Djerassi, an extraordinary personality, died at the age of 91 years. He was born in Vienna, Austria, on October 29, 1923. His parents were physicians and probably he wanted to be also a physician, but sooner than later he chose to be a chemist. In 1939 he arrived to live to New York with his mother. In 1945 he became American citizen. Part of his work is the first commercial antihistamine, pyribenzamine, and the first successful combined oral contraceptive pill. With this editorial we make a tribute to this steroid pioneer.
El 30 de enero de 2015 falleció, a la edad de 91 años, Carl Djerassi, un personaje extraordinario. Nació en Viena, Austria, el 29 de octubre de 1923. Sus padres eran médicos y quizás por esa razón él también quería serlo, pero pronto escogió la química. En 1939 llegó con su madre a vivir a Nueva York y en 1945 se naturalizó estadounidense. Son obra suya el primer antihistamínico comercial (la piribenzamina) y el compuesto farmacológico de la píldora anticonceptiva. Sirva el presente editorial como un homenaje a este pionero de los esteroides sintéticos.
Asunto(s)
Descubrimiento de Drogas/historia , Austria , Anticonceptivos Hormonales Orales/historia , Antagonistas de los Receptores Histamínicos H1/historia , Historia del Siglo XX , Tripelenamina/historia , Estados UnidosAsunto(s)
Biotecnología/historia , Sistemas de Liberación de Medicamentos/historia , Industria Farmacéutica/historia , Administración por Inhalación , Técnicas Químicas Combinatorias/historia , Preparaciones de Acción Retardada/historia , Descubrimiento de Drogas/historia , Emprendimiento/historia , Estudio de Asociación del Genoma Completo/historia , Historia del Siglo XX , Historia del Siglo XXI , Humanos , Análisis de Secuencia por Matrices de Oligonucleótidos/historia , Esteroides/historia , Parche Transdérmico/historia , Estados Unidos , UruguayRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a not-for profit organization committed to providing affordable medicines and access to treatments in resource-poor settings. Traditionally drug development has happened "in house" within pharmaceutical companies, with research and development costs ultimately recuperated through drug sales. The development of drugs for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases requires a completely different model that goes beyond the scope of market-driven research and development. Artesunate and mefloquine are well-established drugs for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria, with a strong safety record based on many years of field-based studies and use. The administration of such artemisinin-based combination therapy in a fixed-dose combination is expected to improve patient compliance and to reduce the risk of emerging drug resistance. CASE DESCRIPTION: DNDi developed an innovative approach to drug development, reliant on strong collaborations with a wide range of partners from the commercial world, academia, government institutions and NGOs, each of which had a specific role to play in the development of a fixed dose combination of artesunate and mefloquine. DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION: DNDi undertook the development of a fixed-dose combination of artesunate with mefloquine. Partnerships were formed across five continents, addressing formulation, control and production through to clinical trials and product registration, resulting in a safe and efficacious fixed dose combination treatment which is now available to treat patients in resource-poor settings. The south-south technology transfer of production from Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz in Brazil to Cipla Ltd in India was the first of its kind. Of additional benefit was the increased capacity within the knowledge base and infrastructure in developing countries. CONCLUSIONS: This collaborative approach to drug development involving international partnerships and independent funding mechanisms is a powerful new way to develop drugs for tropical diseases.