Codrug

For use polysubstance use of drugs that are not chemically linked together, see Combination drug.

A codrug consists of two drug moieties, generally "active against the same disease", that are joined through one or more covalent chemical bonds to create a single new chemical entity;[1] they can also be described as a mutual prodrug, recognising that a catabolic biosynthetic step is most often required to liberate the two drugs.[2] While acting against the same disease, the two moities may operate via different mechanisms of action, and so display differing specific therapeutic effects.[citation needed] The recognised advantages of a codrug approach to small molecule drug design include the possibilities of (i) combined efficacies of the two drugs that are therapeutically synergistic, (ii)) altered properties that improve the pharmacokinetics (e.g., halflife) of the codrug over its indivially administered components (iii) improved modes of drug delivery, and (iv) masking of reactive functional groups of each component drug, possibly improving shelf life (as well as pharmacokinetics).[1][2]

  1. ^ a b Lau, W.M.; White, A.W.; Gallagher, S. J.; Donaldson, M.; McNaughton, G. & Heard, C.M. (2008). "Scope and Limitations of the Co-Drug Approach to Topical Drug Delivery". Current Pharmaceutical Design. 14 (8): 794–802. doi:10.2174/138161208784007653. PMID 18393881.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b Das, N.; Dhanawat, M.; Dash, B.; Nagarwal, R.C. & Shrivastava, S.K. (2010). "Codrug: An Efficient Approach for Drug Optimization". European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 41 (5): 571–588. doi:10.1016/j.ejps.2010.09.014. PMID 20888411.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)