Lanosterol synthase disease prevention and treatment (see Disease Relevance, below). Interest has grown in lanosterol synthase inhibitors as drugs to lower blood cholesterol and treat atherosclerosis. The widely popular statin drugs currently used to lower LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol function by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase activity. Because this enzyme catalyzes the formation of precursors far upstream of (S)-2,3-epoxysqualene and cholesterol, statins may negatively influence amounts of intermediates required for other biosynthetic pathways (e.g. synthesis of isoprenoids, coenzyme Q). Thus, lanosterol synthase, which is more closely tied to cholesterol biosynthesis than HMG-CoA reductase, is an attractive drug target. Lanosterol synthase inhibitors are thought to
Consumer import of prescription drugs a higher price in a different market. Businesses, manufacturers and drug retailers wish to control the supply of pharmaceuticals in their own marketplace. As such, if low-cost drugs entered a market from other lower-cost territories, what might develop is pure price-based selling. The TRIPS agreement is an example of a World Trade Organization treaty which regulates how drugs can be traded in the international marketplace. Some developing countries might receive access to lower-cost drugs through compulsory licenses. Compulsory licenses affect markets outside the country in which they are issued. Drugs which are legal in one place may not be legal