Carbohydrate-based drugs launched during 2000-2021

Carbohydrates are fundamental molecules involved in nearly all aspects of lives, such as be-ing involved in formating the genetic and energy materials, supporting the structure of organisms, consti-tuting invasion and host defense systems, and forming antibiotics secondary metabolites. The naturally occurring carbohydrates and their derivatives have been extensively studied as therapeutic agents for the treatment of various diseases. During 2000 to 2021, totally 54 carbohydrate-based drugs which contain carbohydrate moities as the major structural units have been approved as drugs or diagnostic agents. Here we provide a comprehensive review on the chemical structures, activities, and clinical trial results of these carbohydrate-based drugs, which are categorized by their indications into antiviral drugs, antibacterial/antiparasitic drugs, anticancer drugs, antidiabetics drugs, cardiovascular drugs, nervous sys-tem drugs, and other agents.(c) 2022 Chinese Pharmaceutical Association and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Carbohydrates are essential molecules with diverse roles in life, and their derivatives have been extensively studied as therapeutic agents for various diseases. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the chemical structures, activities, and clinical trial results of carbohydrate-based drugs, categorized by their indications.