Pyrazolopyridine: An efficient pharmacophore in recent drug design and development

Among the various heterocyclic molecules employed for drug design and discovery, pyrazolopyridine is one of the promising pharmacophores. Pyrazolopyridine is a result of fusion of pyrazole and pyridine rings. The potent pharmacology of pyrazolopyridine may be the synergistic effect of pyrazole and pyridine moieties in a single framework. It has been used in drug design of a wide range of diseases such as anticancer, antimicrobial, anti‐inflammatory, and neuroprotection. Cancer has become a common disease among elderly people now a days that might be because of genetic inheritance to some extent, carcinogens, pollution, and some infectious diseases. Whatever may be the reason, cancer is one of the major causes of deaths worldwide. In addition, over‐usage and improper usage of antibiotics have led to drug resistance of microbes. Further, inflammation is a cause of various diseases such as arthritis, and other diseases. Thus, proinflammatory kinases are considered as primary target for inhibition of inflammation. In view of this, a work that compiles potent pharmacology of recently reported pyrazolopyridine analogs has been planned. The review is aimed to discuss pharmacology in brief along with structure–activity relationship (SAR). The review would emphasize importance of pyrazolopyridines in future drug design and discovery and may help in design of potent pharmacological agents. Pyrazolopyridine pharmacophore has been found to be an attractive moiety for drug design against various diseases. Especially, pyridine‐containing pyrazolopyridine derivatives presented most potent activity against microbial diseases, cancer and toward neuroprotectivity. Thus, derivatives with this particular pharmacophore combination might be lead molecules for future drug design.