Natural products in drug discovery – Creating a new vision

Abstract

“If only they had chosen to develop natural product drugs in a sustainable manner at the turn of the century”. In 2050, when the Earth has a population of at least 9 billion, will this be our legacy as the world contemplates the costs and availability of synthetic and gene-based products for primary health care? For most people in the world, plants, in their various forms, remain a primary source of health care. However, in the developed countries, natural products derived from plants assume a very minor role as prescription and over-the-counter products, even with the widespread use of phytotherapeutical preparations. With the continuing decline of natural products in large scale, ultrahigh-throughput screening programs in pharmaceutical industry, and acknowledging the recent history of the relationship between humankind and the Earth, it is essential that we consider what are the health care issues that we are leaving for our descendants? Where do our responsibilities as global citizens and scientists coalesce? What is the vision for natural product research that we must create now in order to maintain the choices of drug discovery and pharmaceutical development for future generations? In order to assist us in creating this vision, we will examine some facets of how natural products must be involved globally in a sustainable manner for improving health care. We will discuss access to the biome, the acquisition, analysis and dissemination of plant knowledge, the safety and efficacy of traditional plant remedies, analytical and biotechnology development, and natural product structure diversification and drug discovery potential. Finally, we will address the question of who will fund this vision?