Synthetic Approaches to the New Drugs Approved During 2020

New drugs introduced to the market are privileged structures that have affinities for biological targets implicated in human diseases and conditions. These new chemical entities (NCEs), particularly small molecules and antibody-drug con-jugates (ADCs), provide insight into molecular recognition and simultaneously function as leads for the design of future medicines. This Review is part of a continuing series presenting the most likely process-scale synthetic approaches to 44 new chemical entities approved for the first time anywhere in the world during 2020.

Automated summary

This Review presents the most likely process-scale synthetic approaches to 44 new chemical entities approved for the first time anywhere in the world during 2020. These privileged structures with affinities for biological targets implicated in human diseases and conditions, particularly small molecules and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), provide insight into molecular recognition and serve as leads for future drug design.