
Explore supply challenges in marine biotechnology and how mariculture, aquaculture, bioreactor cultivation, and fermentation support scalable production of marine drugs like trabectedin.
Chemical synthesis enables constructing marine natural products from simple precursors through total synthesis, semisynthesis, and the creation of analogues to improve therapeutic properties.
Infographics presenting the downstream processing process.
Explore high value added products from marine biotechnology, moving from biomass valorization to pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and fine chemicals, and learn how marine resources drive health, industry, and environmental applications.
Explore how marine natural products become drugs through biomass extraction, bioassay-guided fractionation, high-throughput screening, and a long pipeline from basic research to preclinical and four-phase clinical trials.
Discover approved marine derived drugs such as Prialt, Yondelis, Cytarabine, Lovaza, Eribulin mesylate, and Adcetris, along with their mechanisms and clinical uses.
Explore marine natural products as templates for antiviral and antibacterial drugs, including sponge-derived nucleosides like vidarabine, carrageenans from red algae, and antimicrobial peptides that disrupt membranes and target intracellular processes.
Explore marine natural products with anti-cancer activity, including cytarabine and trabectedin (yondelis), produced by cyanobacteria, fungi, tunicates, and bacteria, and examine challenges in their development with adcetris as case study.
Explore marine enzymes, including proteases, lipases, and amylases, sourced from marine bacteria, fungi, and fish, as robust biocatalysts for food, detergents, biofuel, and pharmaceutical applications.
Explore how marine-derived ingredients power cosmetics and cosmeceuticals with moisturizing, photoprotection, and anti-pigmentation effects, including collagen, hyaluronic acid, and seaweed antioxidants.
Explore marine nutraceuticals and functional foods, including seaweeds and omega-3 fats, algal polysaccharides, chitosan, and glucosamine, for health promotion and disease prevention.
The course on Marine Natural Products (MNPs) provides students with a comprehensive introduction to the fascinating world of bioactive compounds derived from marine organisms. Participants will gain essential knowledge about the marine environment as a rich and largely untapped source of biologically active molecules with enormous biotechnological and pharmaceutical potential. The course is designed in a clear, accessible, and visually engaging manner to guide students through each step of the drug discovery and development process — from the initial collection and identification of marine organisms, through isolation and characterization of natural compounds, to the development of final biotechnological or pharmaceutical products.
Special emphasis is placed on modern and sustainable methods used to ensure a sufficient and stable supply of bioactive materials, which is essential for scaling up production and enabling commercial application. Students will explore a wide range of real-world applications of marine-derived natural products, including their roles in developing new drugs, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, and other high-value products. The course also covers the global MNPs market, current trends, and future prospects.
Additionally, learners will gain insight into the key factors driving innovation in the marine biotechnology sector, as well as the main challenges and limitations affecting its growth. This course is ideal for anyone interested in marine biology, biotechnology, pharmaceutical sciences, or sustainable innovation.
Program co-financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland.
Grant number 5066/SBP 2014-2020/19/2020/2