A Systematic Strategy for Discovering First-in-class Anti-fibrotic Drugs from Traditional Chinese Medicine
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20251967
- VernacularTitle:源于抗肺纤维化传统方剂的原创新药开发策略
- Author:
Wen HUANG
1
;
Guang XIN
1
;
Sanyin ZHANG
2
;
Tao WANG
1
;
Wei CHEN
2
;
Zeliang WEI
1
;
Qilong ZHOU
1
;
Ke LI
1
;
Dan SUN
2
;
Kui YU
1
;
Shilin CHEN
2
Author Information
1. Tissue-orientated Property of Chinese Medicine Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province，Natural and Biomimetic Medicine Research Center，West China Hospital，Sichuan University，Chengdu 610041，China
2. Institute of Herbgenomics，Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine，Chengdu 611137，China
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords:
traditional formulas;
meridian tropism;
homotherapy for heteropathy;
monomeric drug of Chinese medicine;
pulmonary fibrosis;
tissue orientation;
common targets
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2026;32(10):296-307
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Pulmonary fibrosis（PF） is a progressive and life-threatening disease with limited therapeutic options， highlighting the urgent need for innovative drug discovery strategies. To address this challenge， the authors propose the formula-originated rational intelligent screening&translation（FIRST）， a systematic framework for developing anti-fibrotic monomers derived from classical traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）. The strategy integrates three key dimensions， including tissue-oriented intelligent screening of active compounds， structural optimization based on drug-target spatial interactions and plant biosynthetic pathways， and cross-scale validation of drug. We further highlight its applications in discovering tissue-oriented novel drugs from clinically validated TCM， the development and mechanistic elucidation of anti-fibrotic therapeutics， as well as the clinical translation and secondary development of candidate drugs. This strategy paves the way for first-in-class， formula-derived monomeric drugs with defined structures， clarified mechanisms， and proven safety， offering a transformative avenue to meet the urgent therapeutic needs of PF and setting a new paradigm for TCM-based drug innovation.
