Fragment-based Design of Novel Inhibitors of HPV 16 E6 Oncoprotein: Molecular Docking, Molecular Dynamics Simulation and In Silico ADME Analysis

Cervical cancer (CC) is the second most common cancer type in females in India. It has been four decades since the discovery of human papilloma virus (HPV) as the causative agent of CC. The race to develop drugs against HPV and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) began almost at the same time. But even today not a single drug has been discovered against HPV while there are more than twenty anti-retroviral drugs. Although we have vaccines against HPV but the high prevalence rate in many of the women after the start of sexual intercourse, HPV type specificity of these vaccines, long term efficacy and huge logistics involved in running mass vaccination programmes poses a major challenge in winning the battle against CC. Moreover, vaccines are also ineffective for already infected people. Therefore, it is indispensable to develop new therapies.