The application of organosilicon chemistry is a strategy to develop best in class drugs applied to targets that have been validated as tractable and drug-able. Silicon switches of known drugs have been synthesised and evaluated in biological assay systems then compared to their marketed all-carbon counterparts. Recent examples include the silicon switches of drugs haloperidol, fexofenadine, bexarotene and venlafaxine.
Keywords: Organosilicon chemistry, silicon switch, marketed drugs, validated targets