Targeted failed approach: ask Captain Obvious

 

Scientists have concluded that drug side effects are probably impossible to avoid. This relates to the way that proteins function in the body and due to the close similarity between proteins.

The claim about drug side effects is based on computer models. These models indicate that numbers of ‘unique pockets’ in the body, which are sites where small molecule pharmaceutical compounds can bind to proteins, are surprisingly small. This means that it is virtually impossible to design a drug aimed at treating one area of the body in a way that the drug will never have any intended side effects on another part of the body.

This does not mean that every drug taken will have a side effect, because the effect of the drug in an unintended area may not be felt or it will not have any activity.

The research was conducted at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The researchers concluded that there may be no more than about 500 unique protein pocket configurations that serve as binding sites for medicines. Therefore the likelihood that a molecule intended for one protein target will also bind with an unintended target is strong.

It is not all bad news for drug developers can learn something from the research. To counter the impact of unintended effects, drug developers will need to know more about the available pockets so they can avoid affecting binding locations that are also located on certain proteins and try and minimise the side effects.