中山大学陈森华：向海问药，耕耘“蓝色药田”丨海上新农人②

Core Viewpoint - The article highlights the efforts of Chen Senhua and his research team at Sun Yat-sen University in exploring marine natural products for drug development, emphasizing the potential of marine resources to benefit human health and the challenges faced in this field [2][8][90]. Group 1: Research Focus and Achievements - Chen Senhua has dedicated his research to marine natural product chemistry and drug development, focusing on the entire chain from marine resources to active ingredients and drug research [8][90]. - The team has identified over 40,000 unique marine natural products globally, many of which possess novel chemical structures and pharmacological mechanisms [17][19]. - Successful examples of marine-derived drugs include several anti-cancer medications that have gained international recognition, such as the targeted anti-cancer drug derived from Caribbean sea tunicates [22][24]. Group 2: Drug Development Process - The process of developing new drugs from marine sources is likened to "finding a needle in a haystack," as it involves isolating thousands of strains to find useful candidates [25][50]. - The team has successfully discovered candidate drugs for anti-thrombotic and anti-tumor treatments, with one candidate, Isaridin E, showing significant improvement in models of arterial and venous thrombosis [29][52]. - Chen's team has built a compound library of over 3,000 marine natural products and a microbial strain library with over 10,000 strains, facilitating ongoing research and development [76]. Group 3: Challenges and Future Directions - The development of marine drugs faces significant challenges, including the lengthy and costly process of clinical trials, which often prevents many candidates from reaching the market [63][66]. - Chen emphasizes the importance of improving production efficiency and reducing costs to enhance the likelihood of successful drug development [66]. - Future research will leverage big data and AI technologies to analyze complex marine natural products more efficiently and accurately [78]. Group 4: Broader Applications and Collaborations - The research team's work extends beyond human pharmaceuticals to include agricultural applications, such as developing pesticides and promoting crop yields through marine resources [81][82]. - The concept of "new farmers" in the marine sector encompasses not only traditional farming but also advanced research and development in laboratories, utilizing high-tech equipment for drug discovery [88][90].