An overview of polypharmacology: A multifaceted approach to drug development

Abstract

The idea of polypharmacology describes the ability of a molecule to interact with two or more targets at once. When compared to  traditional single-targeting compounds, it has numerous advantages. Several proteins and pathways are involved in the initiation and  progression of complex and multifactorial diseases such as cancer. A chemical must be promiscuous, or able to interact with various  targets, to be considered polypharmacologic. It must also be able to avoid attaching to anti-targets, which would cause off-target  negative effect. Researchers anticipate whether or not a developed molecule will be promiscuous by looking for specific structural traits  and physicochemical qualities. Promiscuity is determined using cutting-edge, modern computational techniques. The "one drug, multiple  targets" polypharmacology paradigm has many uses, particularly in drug repurposing which is the process of developing an  already-approved medication for novel use. Details on how one might purposefully introduce promiscuity into compounds to make them  polypharmacologic are also provided in this review.