Oncology
Fluorinated APIs form the backbone of current cancer therapies, which is why many kinase inhibitors (BRAF inhibitors, MEK inhibitors, EGFR inhibitors, etc. ), PARP inhibitors, and VEGF inhibitors are fluorinated drugs. In oncology, fluorinated APIs are critical for the treatment of lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, and melanoma, to name a few, and the targeted therapies that have become the standard of care for these conditions with the highest overall survival rates. The worldwide need for cancer therapeutics has made fluorinated drugs some of the most commercially valuable products.
Infectious Diseases
Fluorinated APIs have found application in many antiviral drugs, such as HIV therapies (integrase inhibitors like dolutegravir) and HCV therapies (NS5A inhibitors like ledipasvir), as well as antifungal therapies (such as isavuconazole) for life-threatening invasive infections. Their stability and increased bioavailability make fluorinated APIs a mainstay in the pharmaceutical industry for dealing with drug-resistant microorganisms and effective therapies.
Cardiovascular Disorders
Fluorinated compounds are used in therapeutics for high blood pressure, arrhythmia, and hyperlipidemia. The improvements to PK profiles that fluorine can provide are important for cardiovascular drugs, as they need to be longer-acting to reduce the dosing frequency, which is directly tied to patient compliance and care. The rising global mortality of cardiovascular disease has made fluorinated APIs a necessity for the development of newer and more effective cardiovascular drugs.
Neurology & Psychiatry
Fluorination of compounds has been a critical technique for improving neurological and psychiatric therapeutics, including SSRIs (such as fluoxetine) for depression and anxiety and disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis (such as teriflunomide). These APIs provide great penetration of the blood–brain barrier, greater binding at target receptors, and better tolerability, thus, some of the most commercially attractive APIs for these indications are for the treatment of chronic diseases.
