View source for Antitarget

In [[pharmacology]], an '''antitarget''' is a [[receptor (biochemistry)|receptor]], [[enzyme]], or other [[biological target]] that is affected by a drug, which causes undesirable [[adverse effect|side effect]]s. During [[drug design]] and [[drug development|development]], it is important for pharmaceutical companies to ensure that new drugs do not show significant activity at any of a range of antitargets, most which have been discovered largely through chance.<ref>{{Cite pmid|15791686}}</ref><ref>{{Cite pmid|19519283}}</ref> 

Among the best known and most significant antitargets are the [[hERG]] channel and the [[5-HT2B receptor|5-HT<sub>2B</sub> receptor]], both of which cause long-term problems with heart function which can prove fatal ([[long QT syndrome]] and [[cardiac fibrosis]] respectively), in a small but unpredictable proportion of users. These targets were both discovered as a result of high levels of distinctive side effects during the marketing of certain medicines, and while some older drugs with significant hERG activity are still used with caution, most drugs that have been found to be strong 5-HT<sub>2B</sub> agonists were withdrawn from the market, and any new compound will almost always be discontinued from further development if initial screening shows high affinity for these targets.<ref>{{Cite pmid|11994029}}</ref><ref>{{Cite pmid|15389727}}</ref><ref>{{Cite pmid|18329284}}</ref><ref>{{Cite pmid|19572824}}</ref><ref>{{Cite pmid|19570945}}</ref><ref>{{Cite pmid|19683643}}</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:Pharmacology]]
[[Category:Medicinal chemistry]]
[[Category:Drug discovery]]
[[Category:2Fix]]