The Future of Metallodrugs: Cost, Environmental Impact, Research Investments, and Clinical Trials

Metallodrugs are unique prodrugs developed from metals and provide distinctive benefits as they supply the human body with vital nutrients and chemical compounds not present in organic medications. Historically, metallodrugs have primarily been platinum-based and have been utilized in cancer treatment. This has resulted in high levels of cytotoxicity for patients, high costs, and low variability in treatments. Based on this literature review using ScienceDirect, Pubmed, and Google Scholar, including published academic, scientific, and medical research articles relating to the use and manufacturing of metallodrugs, this study explores the scope and impact that metallodrugs could have in the future. Considering the rising demand for new medications and therapies for diseases, metallodrugs will play a key role in the future, especially with recent advancements. In terms of cost, metallodrugs have dropped in price due to innovations using more common, cost-effective materials in key processes such as metal catalysis. Furthermore, coinciding with recent environmental awareness, the new technique of mechanochemistry, which is being researched globally, represents a future of metallodrug development that causes minimal harm to the environment. Also, there has been an uptick in research for applications of metallodrugs in other fields, beyond cancer treatment. For example, IQG-607 has shown promising results for treating new, resistant strains of tuberculosis. In the future, expanding research into different fields for metallodrug application will help to improve medication and make it more accessible to a larger number of people.