Abstract::Many drugs have adverse absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretory
(ADME) properties that prevent their widespread use or limit their use in some indications.
In addition to preparation techniques and prodrug strategies, deuterium modification
is a viable method for improving ADME properties. Deuterated drugs have attracted
increasing attention from the pharmaceutical industry in recent years. To date, two deuterated
drugs have been approved by the FDA. In 2017, austedo was approved by the FDA
as a new drug for Huntington's disease in the United States, the first deuterium drug to be
marketed worldwide. Recently (June 9, 2021), donafinil has been listed in China; this result
has caused major pharmaceutical companies and the pharmaceutical industry to pay
attention to deuterium technology again. In addition, BMS-986165, RT001, ALK-001,
HC-1119, AVP-786 and other drugs are in phase III clinical studies, and some solid deuterium
compounds have entered phase I and II clinical trials. The deuterium strategy has
been widely used in pharmaceutical research and has become a hot spot in pharmaceutical
research in recent years. In this paper, the research and development of deuterated
drugs are reviewed, and the influence of deuterium modification on drugs, the advantages
of deuterium strategies and the synthesis strategies of deuterated drugs are mainly
introduced. Hoping to provide references for clinical application, the discovery of new
deuterium chemical entities and research and development of new deuterated drugs.