Natural Cyclic Peptides as Clinical and Future Therapeutics

Natural cyclic peptides are conformationally constrained notable biomolecules and reveal several drug-like properties such as high binding affinity, metabolic stability, target selectivity, bioavailability, low toxicity and flexibility. They have attracted a lot of attention as alternative sources of new drugs to traditional small molecules in drug discovery. Compared to classical medicines, cyclic peptides with a novel mechanism of action are attractive for their potential therapeutic applications particularly for cancer therapy and several diseases caused by resistant and non-resistant bacteria, virus, and fungi. Herein, we provide an overview of the naturally occurring biologically active cyclic peptide therapeutic landscape, including promising candidates, which are under trial in different stages for future and/or clinically used drugs against different diseases. This will certainly be an essential resource for upcoming and existing researchers and scientists within industry and academia in medicinal, bioorganic, and natural product chemistry.