You Cannot Have Your Synergy and Efficacy Too

Pramita Sen; Ananya Saha; Narendra M Dixit

doi:10.1016/j.tips.2019.08.008

You Cannot Have Your Synergy and Efficacy Too

Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2019 Nov;40(11):811-817. doi: 10.1016/j.tips.2019.08.008. Epub 2019 Oct 11.

Authors

Pramita Sen¹, Ananya Saha¹, Narendra M Dixit²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India; Centre for Biosystems Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. Electronic address: narendra@iisc.ac.in.

PMID: 31610891
DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2019.08.008

Abstract

Synergistic drugs are preferred in combination therapies for many diseases, including viral infections and cancers. Maximizing synergy, however, may come at the cost of efficacy. This synergy-efficacy trade-off appears to be widely prevalent and independent of the specific drug interactions yielding synergy. We present examples of the trade-off in drug combinations used in hepatitis C, HIV, and cancer therapies and believe that screens for optimal drug combinations that presently seek to maximize synergy may be improved by considering the trade-off.

Keywords: anticancer drugs; antiretroviral drugs; direct-acting antiviral agents; drug combination; synergy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Anti-Retroviral Agents / administration & dosage
Anti-Retroviral Agents / pharmacology*
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / administration & dosage
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / pharmacology*
Antiviral Agents / administration & dosage
Antiviral Agents / pharmacology*
Drug Synergism
Drug Therapy, Combination
HIV Infections / drug therapy*
Hepatitis C, Chronic / drug therapy*
Humans
Neoplasms / drug therapy*

Substances

Anti-Retroviral Agents
Antiviral Agents