Methyl salicylate (or methyl 2-hydroxybenzoate), also known as wintergreen oil, is a natural product and is present in white wine, tea, porcini mushroom Boletus edulis, Bourbon vanilla, clary sage, red sage and fruits including cherry, apple, raspberry, papaya and plum. Methyl salicylate is topically used in combination with methanol and under brand name SALONPAS to temporarily relieves mild to moderate aches and pains of muscles and joints associated with: strains, sprains, simple backache, arthritis, bruises. The precise mechanism of action of methyl salicylate is not known, but there is suggested, that it cause dilation of the capillaries thereby increasing blood flow to the area.

TIC10 (TIC10 isomer or ONC201 isomer) is a potent, orally active, and stable small molecule and is an efficacious antitumor therapeutic agent that acts on tumor cells and their microenvironment to enhance the concentrations of the endogenous tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL). The isomeric structure of TIC10/ONC201 is critical to its activity: anti-cancer activity is associated with the angular structure and not the linear TIC10 isomer. TIC10 transcriptionally induces a sustained up-regulation TRAIL in tumors and normal cells in a p53-independent manner. TIC10 inactivates kinases Akt and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), leading to the translocation of Foxo3a into the nucleus, where it binds to the TRAIL promoter to up-regulate gene transcription. TIC10 crosses the blood-brain barrier. TIC10 treatment caused tumor regression in the HCT116 p53−/− xenograft, RKO human colon cancer xenograft–bearing mice and human triple-negative breast cancer xenografts and significantly prolonged the survival of Eμ-myc transgenic mice, which spontaneously develop metastatic lymphoma from weeks 9 to 12 of age by 4 weeks.

Otenabant (CP-945,598) is Pfizer developed as a potent and selective cannabinoid receptor CB1 antagonist with Ki of 0.7 nM, which exhibits 10,000-fold greater selectivity against human CB2 receptor, for treatment of obesity. In clinical trial III Pfizer decided to discontinue the development program based on changing regulatory perspectives on the risk/benefit profile of the CB1 class and likely new regulatory requirements for approval.

Tozasertib, originally developed as VX-680 by Vertex (Cambridge, MA) and later renamed MK-0457 by Merck (Whitehouse Station, NY), was the first aurora kinase inhibitor to be tested in clinical trials. The drug, a pyrimidine derivative, has affinity for all aurora family members at nanomolar concentrations with inhibitory constant values (Ki(app)) of 0.6, 18, and 4.6 nM for aurora A, aurora B, and aurora C, respectively. Preclinical studies confirmed that tozasertib inhibited both aurora A and aurora B kinase activity, and activity has been reported against prostate, thyroid, ovarian, and oral squamous cancer cell lines. Upon treatment with tozasertib, cells accumulate with a 4N DNA content due to a failure of cytokinesis. This ultimately leads to apoptosis, preferentially in cells with a compromised p53 function. Tozasertib is an anticancer chemotherapeutic pan-aurora kinase (AurK) inhibitor that also inhibits FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) and Abl. Tozasertib is currently in clinical trials as a potential treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In cellular models of cancer, tozasertib activates caspase-3 and PARP and decreases expression of HDAC, increasing apoptosis and inhibiting cell growth. In other cellular models, tozasertib inhibits cell proliferation and metastasis by blocking downstream ERK signaling and downregulating cdc25c and cyclin B. This compound also decreases tumor growth in an in vivo model of prostate cancer.

Taranabant is a highly selective cannabinoid-1 (CB1) receptor inverse agonist developed by Merck & Co for the treatment of obesity. The Phase III taranabant study involved about 2,400 patients and was to be conducted for two years. In March 2008, after completion of 52 weeks of the study, Merck reported positive results of the drug in conjunction with diet and exercise in obese patients. The patients experienced double the amount of weight loss by taking 2mg of taranabant when compared to the patients treated with placebo. However, in October 2008, the company discontinued the Phase III programme and clinical development of taranabant because of its side effects. The drug showed gastrointestinal and psychiatric side effects such as increased anxiety, depression and irritability. Merck had previously planned to file for regulatory approval with the US Food and Drug Administration in 2008, but subsequently withdrew it.

Lysergide (LSD) is a semi-synthetic hallucinogen and is one of the most potent drugs known. Recreational use became popular between the 1960s to 1980s, but is now less common. LSD was first synthesized by Albert Hoffman while working for Sandoz Laboratories in Basel in 1938. Some years later, during a re-evaluation of the compound, he accidentally ingested a small amount and described the first ‘trip’. During the 1950s and 1960s, Sandoz evaluated the drug for therapeutic purposes and marketed it under the name Delysid®. It was used for research into the chemical origins of mental illness. Recreational use started in the 1960s and is associated with the ‘psychedelic period’. LSD possesses a complex pharmacological profile that includes direct activation of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine receptors. In addition, one of its chief sites of action is that of compound-specific (“allosteric”) alterations in secondary messengers associated with 5HT2A and 5HT2C receptor activation and changes in gene expression. The hallucinogenic effects of LSD are likely due to agonism at 5HT2A and 5HT2C receptors. LSD is also an agonist at the majority of known serotonin receptors, including 5HT1A, 5HT1B, 5HT1D, 5HT5A, 5HT6 and 5HT7 receptors. During the 1960s, LSD was investigated for a variety of psychiatric indications, including the following: as an aid in treatment of schizophrenia; as a means of creating a "model psychosis"; as a direct antidepressant; and as an adjunct to psychotherapy. LSD is listed in Schedule I of the United Nations 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.

AST-1306, also known as Allitinib, is an orally active potent, selective, irreversible inhibitor of the HER family of receptor tyrosine kinases. AST-1306 inhibits the enzymatic activities of wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and ErbB2 as well as EGFR resistant mutant in both cell-free and cell-based systems. AST1306 potently suppressed tumor growth in ErbB2-overexpressing adenocarcinoma xenograft and FVB-2/N(neu) transgenic breast cancer mouse models. Allitinib is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. Serious adverse effects detected were: diarrhea, dehydration and hyperbilirubinemia.

BMS-690514 is a potent, reversible oral inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/HER-1), HER-2 and -4, and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFRs)-1 to -3 offering targeted inhibition of tumour growth and vascularisation in a single agent. Bristol-Myers Squibb was developing BMS 690514, as an oral treatment for cancer. BMS-690514 had being in phase II for the treatment of breast cancer; non-small cell lung cancer, but later these studies were discontinued.

Vistusertib (AZ-2014) is a dual inhibitor of mTORC1/mTORC2 which was developed by AstraZeneca for the treatment of cancer. The drug is under clinical development (phase II) in patients with Renal Carcinoma, Squamous Non Small Cell Lung Cancer, Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Meningioma, Breast cancer and Gastric cancer, either alone or in combination therapy. Vistusertib penetrates blood-brain barrier.

Idasanutlin (RG-7388) is a second-generation, orally bioavailable, selective p53-MDM2 antagonist. MDM2 is an important negative regulator of the p 53 tumor suppressor and is expressed at high levels in a large proportion of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Blocking the MDM2-p53 interaction stabilizes p53 and activates p-53 mediated cell death and inhibition cell growth. Idasanutlin is under clinical trial in phase III for treatment AML and in combinations with others drugs in phase I/II for treatment of multiple myeloma.