Are we losing potential life-saving medicines to extinction?

Yes. Scientists estimate we’re losing at least one important drug every two years due to biodiversity loss and species extinction. This alarming rate of loss threatens our ability to discover new treatments for cancer, infectious diseases, and other conditions that depend on nature’s vast chemical library.

Evolution has spent three billion years perfecting the molecular compounds found in plants, animals, fungi, and microbes. These natural products have been honed by countless generations of trial and error, creating the most sophisticated chemical laboratory on Earth. When species disappear, we lose access to these irreplaceable molecular blueprints forever.

What the data show:

• Extinction crisis: Modern extinction rates are 100-1000 times higher than natural background rates
• Discovery gap: New species go extinct 1000 times faster than we discover them
• Medicine dependency: Over 30% of new drugs derive from natural molecules sourced from plants and microbes
• Cancer treatment reliance: More than 70% of cancer therapeutics derive from existing natural compounds

This call to action from the Bio2Bio (Biodiversity-to-Biomedicine) consortium represents an urgent plea from scientists across 18 countries who recognize that biodiversity preservation is essential for future medical breakthroughs and global health security.

Dr. Kumar’s Take

This consortium’s warning connects directly to the penicillin story we explored in the podcast. Just as Fleming’s accidental discovery of penicillin from a mold saved millions of lives, countless other life-saving compounds remain hidden in species we haven’t yet studied - or worse, species we’re driving to extinction before we can discover their potential.

The numbers are staggering. We share the planet with an estimated 1-6 billion species, yet only a tiny fraction have been studied for their medicinal properties. Meanwhile, we’re destroying the very habitats that house these potential medicines at an unprecedented rate. It’s like burning down libraries before we’ve read the books.

What strikes me most is how this mirrors the collaborative approach that made penicillin successful. The consortium calls for the same kind of international cooperation between scientists, governments, and industry that scaled penicillin production during World War II. But this time, the enemy is extinction itself.

What the Research Shows

The Bio2Bio consortium, established by early-career scientists from 18 countries, documents several critical threats to medical discovery:

Biodiversity is disappearing faster than we can study it. Current extinction rates exceed natural background rates by 100-1000 times. Species are going extinct 1000 times faster than we’re discovering new ones. This means we’re losing potential medicines before we even know they exist.

Natural products remain essential for drug discovery. Despite advances in synthetic chemistry, nature continues to provide the molecular templates for most new medicines. Over 30% of new drugs derive from natural sources, and this percentage is even higher for certain disease categories like cancer and infectious diseases.

Traditional knowledge is vanishing alongside species. Indigenous communities have developed sophisticated understanding of medicinal plants over thousands of years. As globalization disrupts traditional practices and species disappear, this invaluable knowledge disappears with them.

Study Snapshot

The consortium analyzed the current state of biodiversity loss and its impact on drug discovery:

• Global scope: Scientists from 18 countries across multiple disciplines
• Species diversity: Estimated 1-6 billion species on Earth when including parasites and endosymbionts
• Study rate: Only a small fraction of known species have been studied for medicinal properties
• Loss rate: At least one potentially important drug lost every two years to extinction
• Economic impact: Biodiversity provides ecosystem services worth $125 trillion annually

The research emphasizes that we’re not just losing individual species, but entire ecosystems and the complex relationships between species that often produce the most interesting medicinal compounds.

Who Benefits Most

The consortium identifies several groups that would benefit from coordinated biodiversity conservation:

Developing countries often harbor the greatest biodiversity but lack resources to study and protect it. These nations could benefit from fair partnerships that provide economic incentives for conservation while ensuring local communities retain access to traditional medicines.

Pharmaceutical companies depend on natural products for drug discovery but have largely withdrawn from natural product research. The consortium argues that investing just 1% of global pharmaceutical spending in land restoration could yield $30 trillion in biodiversity services.

Patients with hard-to-treat diseases would benefit most from expanded access to nature’s chemical diversity. Many conditions still lack effective treatments, and natural products offer unique mechanisms of action that synthetic chemistry struggles to replicate.

Practical Takeaways

• Support conservation organizations that protect biodiversity hotspots where medicinal species are most likely to be found
• Advocate for sustainable practices that balance economic development with habitat preservation
• Recognize traditional knowledge and support indigenous communities who are often the best guardians of medicinal biodiversity
• Push for pharmaceutical industry accountability in supporting the conservation of the natural resources they depend on
• Understand the connection between environmental health and human health - they’re inseparable
• Support research funding for natural product discovery and sustainable extraction methods

Safety, Limits, and Caveats

The consortium acknowledges several challenges in implementing their vision. Ethical oversight is essential when exploring medicinal species, especially in developing countries where biodiversity is often concentrated. There’s a risk that increased interest in natural products could lead to overharvesting and further threaten vulnerable species.

The balance between conservation and access is delicate. Local communities who have traditionally used medicinal plants may find themselves priced out when pharmaceutical companies commercialize these resources. The consortium emphasizes the need for equitable benefit-sharing agreements that ensure local communities benefit from discoveries made from their traditional knowledge.

International cooperation is essential but challenging to coordinate. Different countries have different regulations, priorities, and economic pressures. The consortium calls for new funding models and public-private partnerships, but implementing these at scale will require unprecedented cooperation.

Related Studies and Research

Biodiversity: The Overlooked Source of Human Health and Medicine - Comprehensive analysis of how biodiversity loss threatens human health through multiple pathways including disease emergence and immune system impacts.

Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999: Control of Infectious Diseases - Shows how natural products like penicillin contributed to the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.

The Vitamin D Hammer: A High-Dose Strategy for Beating the Flu Fast - Demonstrates how natural compounds can provide effective treatments for common illnesses.

Penicillin: The Accidental Discovery That Changed Medicine and Won a War - The foundational story of how a natural product from a mold revolutionized medicine.

Current Status of Clinical Trials for Phage Therapy - Explores how natural biological systems continue to inspire new therapeutic approaches.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many species have we actually studied for medicinal properties?

Only a tiny fraction of Earth’s estimated 1-6 billion species have been studied for medicinal properties. Even among the better-known groups like plants, only about 7% of vascular plant species have been used medicinally.

Why can’t we just synthesize medicines in the lab instead of relying on nature?

While synthetic chemistry has advanced tremendously, nature provides molecular templates and mechanisms that are often impossible to design from scratch. Evolution has spent billions of years optimizing these compounds, creating complexity that synthetic chemistry struggles to match.

What can individuals do to help preserve medicinal biodiversity?

Support conservation organizations, choose products from companies with sustainable practices, advocate for policies that protect biodiversity hotspots, and recognize the value of traditional knowledge from indigenous communities.

How do we balance conservation with the need for new medicines?

The key is sustainable extraction and cultivation methods, combined with fair benefit-sharing agreements that provide economic incentives for conservation while ensuring local communities benefit from discoveries.

Are there successful examples of this approach working?

Yes, compounds like artemisinin for malaria and paclitaxel for cancer show how natural products can be developed sustainably, though both required significant effort to avoid overharvesting the source species.

Bottom Line

The race between extinction and discovery is one we’re currently losing, with potentially catastrophic consequences for global health. The Bio2Bio consortium’s call for international cooperation offers a blueprint for preserving nature’s medicine cabinet while ensuring equitable access to its benefits. Just as the penicillin story showed us the power of natural products combined with human ingenuity, this initiative could unlock treatments for diseases that currently have no cure - but only if we act before these molecular treasures disappear forever.

Final Study Link

Read the full consortium statement: Biodiversity, drug discovery, and the future of global health