F is for Failure: The initial success and pre-clinical discontinuation of Eryloside F.

Eryloside F was a drug discovered off of a  sponge that offered a lot of hope in the treatment of thrombosis. It’s chemical structure showed a lot of promise considering other disaccharides have had similar effects in the past. Chemically, it inhibited the reception of thrombin, which caused thrombosis, as well as to a much lesser extent, disrupting platelet aggregation, or blood clotting. Sadly, Eryloside F didn’t make it past the following pre-clinical trials, being discontinued in 2005. That was five years after the publishing of the paper that documented its promise in fighting thrombosis, properly demonstrating the necessary difficulty and selectivity that follows drug approval.