Berndt · Current opinion in chemical biology 2017 · narrative review · n=?

Advances of small molecule targeting of kinases.

Cited 56 times in the scientific literature.

Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data

Narrative review with no systematic search methodology or original experimental data.

PubMed 28732278 · doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2017.06.015 · record verified 2026-08-29

What was done

This narrative review summarizes the landscape of small-molecule protein kinase inhibitors (PKIs) approved for clinical use since 1995, outlining the scope of kinase targets, cancer indications, challenges, and emerging strategies based on published literature and regulatory data.

What was found

Almost three dozen PKIs have gained approval since 1995, mostly for cancer. Out of over 100 cancer types cataloged by the NCI, approved PKIs cover only 14. Furthermore, out of more than 500 protein kinases encoded by the human genome, only 22 are targeted by approved PKIs.

Why it matters

The paper outlines the extent to which the human kinome remains untargeted by approved therapeutics, highlighting substantial room for future drug development.

Limits

This is a brief narrative review without a systematic search protocol, meta-analysis, or primary clinical trial data, and it reports only high-level descriptive counts.

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