Xolani H Makhoba,1 Claudio Viegas Jr,2 Rebamang A Mosa,1 Flvia PD Viegas,2 Ofentse J Pooe3

1Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Division of Biochemistry, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa; 2Laboratory of Research in Medicinal Chemistry (PeQuiM), Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Alfenas, Alfenas, MG, Brazil; 3Discipline of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

Correspondence: Xolani H MakhobaDepartment of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Division of Biochemistry, University of Pretoria, Hatfield 2000, South AfricaTel +2712 4204149Email zolanimakhoba53@gmail.comOfentse J PooeDiscipline of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South AfricaTel +2731 2607664Email PooeO@ukzn.ac.za

Abstract: It is essential to acknowledge the efforts made thus far to manage or eliminate various disease burden faced by humankind. However, the rising global trends of the so-called incurable diseases continue to put pressure on Pharma industries and other drug discovery platforms. In the past, drugs with more than one target were deemed as undesirable options with interest being on the one-drug-single target. Despite the successes of the single-target drugs, it is currently beyond doubt that these drugs have limited efficacy against complex diseases in which the pathogenesis is dependent on a set of biochemical events and several bioreceptors operating concomitantly. Different approaches have thus been proposed to come up with effective drugs to combat even the complex diseases. In the past, the focus was on producing drugs from screening plant compounds; today, we talk about combination therapy and multi-targeting drugs. The multi-target drugs have recently attracted much attention as promising tools to fight against most challenging diseases, and thus a new research focus area. This review will discuss the potential impact of multi-target drug approach on various complex diseases with focus on malaria, tuberculosis (TB), diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases as the main representatives of multifactorial diseases. We will also discuss alternative ideas to solve the current problems bearing in mind the fourth industrial revolution on drug discovery.

Keywords: multi-target drugs, malaria, diabetes, tuberculosis and drug discovery

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