Global InformationCodrug information
 | This article is missing information about things that blur the line with ordinary combination meds: co-salts such as dimenhydrinate linked via an ionic bond, co-crystals held together by H-bonds. (December 2022) |
A codrug or "mutual prodrug" consists of two synergistic drugs chemically linked together to a single molecule, in order to improve the drug delivery properties of one or both drugs.[1][2]
An effective codrug should be pharmacologically inactive in its own right but should release the constituent drugs upon biochemical breakage of the chemical linkage at the target tissue where their therapeutic effects are needed. As such, the chemical linkage (usually a covalent bond) should be subjectable to biodegradation, such as hydrolysis, by an enzymatic or non-enzymatic mechanism. The differential distribution of enzymes capable of catalyzing the breakage of the chemical linkage in different tissues may be exploited to achieve tissue-specific metabolism of the codrug to release the constituent drugs.
The constituent drugs are indicated for the same disease but may exert different therapeutic effects via disparate mechanisms of action.
- ^ W. M. Lau (2008). "Scope and Limitations of the Co-Drug Approach to Topical Drug Delivery". Current Pharmaceutical Design. 14 (8): 794–802. doi:10.2174/138161208784007653. PMID 18393881.
- ^ N. Das (2010). "Codrug: An efficient approach for drug optimization". European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 41 (5): 571–588. doi:10.1016/j.ejps.2010.09.014. PMID 20888411.