Could the sea be a pharmaceutical gold mine? Most certainly! This article —published this month in Industrie et Technologies, a magazine that focuses on the utilization of technologies in a wide range of industrial sectors— inspired us to give a (non-exhaustive) overview of some molecules with therapeutic activity that the sea has delivered to date.
Roughly 274,000 marine species have been identified in the world’s oceans, but marine biodiversity is probably much higher: some experts suggest that there are 10 million marine species and, for example, microbial diversity remains largely unexplored… Given this high diversity, it is not surprising that a more than just a few molecules of high therapeutic interest have already been discovered from an eclectic collection of organisms, including mollusks, fish, sharks, sponges, ascidians, algae, etc.
Fish
Some compounds have been isolated from bony and cartilaginous fish (Osteichthyes and Chondrichthyes, respectively). Salmon calcitonin (Calcimar, Miacalcin), more powerful than human calcitonin, is used for treating osteoporosis. Squalamine is an antibiotic that was isolated from the dogfish shark (Squalus acanthias). In Brittany, the Selacian project (officially recognized by the Brittany Maritime Cluster) is exploring the therapeutic properties of peptides found in the small spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula).
Ascidians
Many molecules with anticancer properties have been isolated from ascidians (tunicates). The best example is Yondelis(TM) (Trabectedin), a molecule that comes from the ascidian Ecteinascidia turbinate. It is being developed by PharmaMar (in Spain) and has been approved for use in the treatment of certain sarcomas. Other molecules found in ascidians include aplidin (from Aplidium albicans), meridianins (Aplidium meridianum), Didemnin B and Cephalastatin 8. These have shown to have antiproliferative or anti-inflammatory properties, either in vitro or in vivo.
Sponges
Variolins, from the Antarctic red sponge Kirkpatrickia variolosa, are molecules with antitumoral activities. Manoalide, an anti-inflammatory agent, was discovered in another sponge species (Luffariella variabilis), found in the Indo-Pacific… Cytarabine (used to treat leukemias) and vidarabine (an anti-viral agent used to treat hepatitis B) were derived from molecules found in the Caribbean sponge Cryptotheca crypta.
And so on…
There are many other examples of “sea” drugs. Prialt (TM) (ziconotide) is an analgesic peptide isolated from cone snail (Conus magus) venom. It has been approved by the FDA and it’s marketed by Elan. It seems paradoxical that this molecule is used for pain relief, considering the very painful sting that cone snail mollusks can inflict… Also derived from the sea are cryptophycins, pseudopterosins, cephalosporins, la dactylyne (from the sea slug Aplysia dactylomela), or hydroxyapatite (from corals, promotes bone growth). Different times, different “therapies”: saxitoxin produced by the dinoflagellate (a unicellular alga) Alexandrium tamarensi was used in the 1950’s as a suicide pill by the CIA!
Let’s not forget the new blood substitutes, derived from the lugworm (Arenicola marina), that Hemarina is developing.
ManRos Therapeutics (”From Sea to Pharmacy”!) is also interested in certain marine molecules, particularly those that are found in invertebrates, sponges or tunicates. Fortunately, our molecules can be reliably produced in the laboratory using chemical synthesis processes; the sponges in question can continue their peaceful existence…
Tags: Ascidians, Brittany Maritime Cluster, C.RIS Pharma, Drugs, Hemarina, ManRos Therapeutics, Prialt, Sea, Squalamine, Variolins, Yondelis