Abstract
During 2022-2023, research groups from 40 nations contributed to the preclinical pharmacology of 173 structurally defined marine-derived compounds, unveiling innovative mechanisms of action. Peer-reviewed publications in the field of marine natural product pharmacology during 2022-2023 included mechanism-of-action studies with 43 compounds showing antibacterial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, antitubercular, and antiviral activity. Additional mechanism-of-action studies were reported for 74 marine compounds that exhibited antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as significant effects on both the immune and nervous systems. Finally, while 65 marine compounds revealed unique and diverse pharmacological mechanisms, further investigation will be required to determine whether they will contribute to a particular therapeutic category. Collectively, the pharmacology of 2022-2023 preclinical marine natural products demonstrated robust activity, offering both novel mechanistic insights and promising chemical scaffolds to enrich the 2026 marine pharmaceutical development pipeline (https://www.marinepharmacology.org/) which currently consists of 17 marine-derived pharmaceuticals approved for clinical use and 29 compounds in either Phase I, II or III of clinical pharmaceutical development.