The evolutionary safety of mutagenic drugs should be assessed before drug approval

PLoS Biol. 2024 Mar 15;22(3):e3002570. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002570. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Some drugs increase the mutation rate of their target pathogen, a potentially concerning mechanism as the pathogen might evolve faster toward an undesired phenotype. We suggest a four-step assessment of evolutionary safety for the approval of such treatments.

MeSH terms

  • Drug Approval*
  • Mutagenesis
  • Mutagens* / toxicity
  • Mutation Rate
  • Phenotype

Substances

  • Mutagens

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Kimmel Foundation (YP) and the Minerva Center on Live Emulation of Evolution in the Lab (YP). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.