Structure activity relationship of key heterocyclic anti-angiogenic leads of promising potential in the fight against cancer

Pathological angiogenesis is a hallmark of cancer; accordingly, a number of anticancer FDA-approved drugs act by inhibiting angiogenesis via different mechanisms. However, the development process of the most potent anti-angiogenics has met various hurdles including redundancy, multiplic-ity, and development of compensatory mechanisms by which blood vessels are remodeled. Moreover, identification of broad-spectrum anti-angiogenesis targets is proved to be required to enhance the efficacy of the anti-angiogenesis drugs. In this perspective, a proper understanding of the structure activity relationship (SAR) of the recent anti-angiogenics is required. Various anti-angiogenic classes have been developed over the years; among them, the heterocyclic organic compounds come to the fore as the most promising, with several drugs approved by the FDA. In this review, we discuss the structure–activity relationship of some promising potent heterocyclic anti-angiogenic leads. For each lead, a molecular modelling was also carried out in order to correlate its SAR and specificity to the active site. Furthermore, an in silico pharmacokinetics study for some representative leads was presented. Summarizing, new insights for further improvement for each lead have been reviewed.