A significant share of the drugs that are used in current therapeutics are sourced from natural sources. More often than once, these sources tend to be from terrestrial plants or animals; this is where the prospect of drug development from a novel alternative source comes into play. The marine environment is a vast and yet scarcely explored field for obtaining a new source of bioactive compounds. Starting from 1969, since the approval of the first marine-derived drug cytarabine, technology has advanced by great strides over the past 46 years making the process of drug discovery and development relatively feasible. This review follows the timeline of the FDA approved marine-derived drugs by discussing their pharmacology and clinical trial updates and simultaneously addresses the challenges faced today in drug development from marine sources.
展开▼
