Analogue

An analogue is a medicinal substance, the molecular composition of which differs little from the composition of another, related compound.

Examples of analogues include:

1. Calcipotriol is an analogue of vitamin D, used to treat psoriasis.

2. LH-VH analogues are analogues of gonadotropin-releasing hormones, used to treat prostate cancer and uterine fibroids.

3. Carboplatin is a less toxic analogue of cisplatin, an antitumor agent.

Analogs of existing medicinal substances are used in medical practice because they are either more potent or have fewer side effects compared to original drugs. The development of analogues makes it possible to improve the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of drugs.

An analogue is a medicinal substance that has a similar molecular composition to another medicinal product, but differs from it in its action. An analogue can be created on the basis of an existing drug substance by changing its molecule or adding new functional groups.

One example of an analogue is calcipotriol, which is a derivative of vitamin D and is used to treat psoriasis. Calcipotriol has similar effects to vitamin D, but is less toxic and less likely to cause side effects.

Analogs can also be created from other drugs, such as LH-GH analogs (growth hormone analogs). These analogues are used to treat various diseases such as hypogonadism in men and growth retardation in children.

However, the use of analogues may be limited due to possible side effects that may occur when replacing one drug with another. In addition, some analogues may have a higher cost than the original medicines.

In general, analogues may be useful for patients who cannot take certain medications due to allergies or other medical contraindications. However, before using analogues, you must consult your doctor and make sure that they are safe for a particular patient.

Today, the problem of finding and developing new drugs - analogues of modern effective drugs that help reduce side effects, increase the safety of drug therapy, and overcome the resistance of malignant neoplasms is becoming increasingly relevant. The use of synthetic analogues instead of natural drugs allows us to reduce the costs of their production and treatment. In particular, when searching for analogues of biological agents, the definitions “analogue” (analogue) or “related” (homolog) are used. Analogue (analogue) is a medicinal product that can replace another known medicinal product in terms of action or principle of action (in accordance with the instructions for medical use), but not necessarily identical to it in physicochemical and pharmacological properties.

Synonyms are drugs created in the process of scientific research to replace a known drug with its structural analogue or relative.

The differences between synonyms and analogues are given in the Instructions for the drugs and determine exclusively the functional similarity, but the differences are in bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, and biological effects due to variations in the pharmacophores of the active substance. In other words, their function is the same, but the interaction with the organ depends on the specific drug. When creating analogues, doctors try to develop a medicine whose properties most closely correspond to the properties of the original drug and which would be no worse than it. However, scientists often fail to achieve anything ideal, since everything depends on the competence of those who conduct the experiments and on the economic opportunities that the pharmaceutical company has. According to the production method, analogs are divided into two main classes: - Recombinant (r-analogs). These are highly purified proteins that have similar medicinal properties. They are produced thanks to genetic engineering and have the least number of side effects. The biological properties of synthetic protein molecules are primarily determined by their amino acid sequence. The spectrum of biological activity of the analogue must correspond to the original drug without significant differences, therefore p-analogs are used for the most serious diseases, including oncology. In oncology, they allow the drug to be used in large doses, since at a high level of protein, defense mechanisms against its breakdown are immediately activated;

- Derivatives (d-analogues). The suffix "d" indicates "derivative". These medications have chemical or physical properties similar to their analogues, but contain additional functional groups that give them certain characteristics - antiarrhythmic, neuroleptic, antidiabetic and others. Moreover, individual molecules of derivative substances in the body can have different effects and even properties that are directly opposite to each other, which has become the reason for the ban on their use in oncology. In addition, it is almost impossible to predict the possible side effects of such “derivatives”.