Prostaglandin receptor agonists as antiglaucoma agents (a patent review 2013-2018)

Introduction: Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the most prevalent risk factor for glaucoma. Prostaglandin analogs are a first-line therapy for glaucoma due to their ability to reduce IOP, once-daily dosing, efficacy, and minimal side-effect profile. Many compounds targeting different PG receptors have been developed in the last years, some of them being in clinical use. Latanoprost, Bimatoprost, Travoprost, and Tafluprost are clinically used as antiglaucoma drugs and act as agonists of the PGF2 alpha receptor. The inability to fully understand the mechanism of action of clinically used PGF2 alpha analogs is thus a strong driver for additional research into the mechanism of action of ocular hypotensive drugs belonging to this class of pharmacological agents. Areas covered: This review explores the last 5 years (2013-2018), where many patents describing new compounds acting on different prostaglandin receptors, and mainly targeting EP1-4 and FP receptors, were released. Expert opinion: To date, there has been a growing awareness over recent years of the therapeutic use of novel derivatives as new antiglaucoma pharmaceutical products. Patents involved in discovering new approaches and new molecules for the treatment of glaucoma diseases encouraged the scientific community to increase the variety of drugs available for the treatment of ocular diseases.