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{{Short description|Category of drugs used to classify a drug according to certain criteria}}
A '''drug class''' is a set of [[medication]]s and other compounds that have a similar [[chemical structure]]s, the same [[mechanism of action]] (i.e. binding to the same [[biological target]]), a related [[mode of action]], and/or are used to treat the same disease.

In several dominant drug classification systems, these four types of classifications form a hierarchy. For example, the [[fibrate]]s are a chemical class of drugs (amphipathic carboxylic acids) that share the same mechanism of action ([[PPAR agonist]]) and mode of action (reducing blood [[triglyceride]]s), and that are used to prevent and treat the same disease ([[atherosclerosis]]). Conversely, not all PPAR agonists are fibrates, not all triglyceride lowering agents are PPAR agonists, and not all drugs used to treat atherosclerosis are triglyceride-lowering agents.

A drug class is typically defined by a [[prototype drug]], the most important, and typically the first developed drug within the class, used as a reference for comparison.

List of drugs classes: [https://www.drugs.com/drug-classes.html]

== Comprehensive [[Systems theory|Systems]]==
* [[Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System]] (ATC) - most widely used.  Combines classification by organ system and therapeutic, pharmacological, and chemical properties.
* [[Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine]] (SNOMED) - includes a section devoted to drug classification

== Chemical class ==
This type of categorisation of drugs is from a [[chemistry|chemical]] perspective and categorises them by their chemical structure. Examples of drug classes that are based on chemical structures include:
{{div col|colwidth=33em}}
* [[β-lactam antibiotic]]
* [[Benzodiazepine]]
* [[Cardiac glycoside]]
* [[Fibrate]]
* [[Thiazide diuretic]]
* [[Steroid]]
* [[Triptan]]
{{Div col end}}

== Mechanism of action ==
This type of categorisation is from a [[Pharmacology|pharmacological]] perspective and categorises them by their biological target. Drug classes that share a common molecular [[mechanism of action]] modulate the activity of a specific [[biological target]]. The definition of a mechanism of action also includes the type of activity at that biological target.  For receptors, these activities include [[agonist]], [[receptor antagonist|antagonist]], [[inverse agonist]], or [[selective receptor modulator|modulator]].  Enzyme target mechanisms include [[enzyme activator|activator]] or [[enzyme inhibitor|inhibitor]]. Ion channel modulators include [[channel opener|opener]] or [[channel blocker|blocker]].  The following are specific examples of drug classes whose definition is based on a specific mechanism of action:
{{div col|colwidth=33em}}
* [[5-alpha-reductase inhibitor|5-Alpha-reductase inhibitor]]
* [[Angiotensin II receptor antagonist]]
* [[ACE inhibitor]]
* [[Alpha-adrenergic agonist]]
* [[Beta blocker]]
* [[Cholinergic]]
* [[Dopaminergic]]
* [[GABAergic]]
* [[Glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist|Incretin mimetic]]
* [[Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug]] − [[cyclooxygenase]] inhibitor
* [[Proton-pump inhibitor]]
* [[Renin inhibitor]]
* [[Selective glucocorticoid receptor modulator]]
* [[Serotonergic]]
* [[Statin]] –  [[HMG-CoA reductase]] inhibitor
{{Div col end}}

== Mode of action ==
This type of categorisation of drugs is from a [[biology|biological]] perspective and categorises them by the anatomical or functional change they induce. Drug classes that are defined by common [[mode of action|modes of action]] (i.e. the functional or anatomical change they induce) include:{{div col|colwidth=33em}}
* [[Antifungals]]
* [[Antimicrobials]]
* [[Antithrombotics]]
* [[Bronchodilator]]
* [[Chronotrope]] (positive or negative)
* [[Decongestant]]
* [[Diuretic]] or [[Antidiuretic]]
* [[Inotrope]] (positive or negative)
{{Div col end}}

== Therapeutic class ==
This type of categorisation of drugs is from a [[medicine|medical]] perspective and categorises them by the pathology they are used to treat. Drug classes that are defined by their [[indication (medicine)|therapeutic use]] (the pathology they are intended to treat) include:
{{div col|colwidth=33em}}
* [[Analgesics]]
* [[Antibiotic]]
* [[Anticoagulant]]
* [[Antidepressant]]
* [[Anticancer]]
* [[Antidiabetic]]
* [[Antiepileptic]]
* [[Antipsychotic]]
* [[Antispasmodic]]
* [[Antiviral]]
* [[Cardiovascular]]
* [[Depressant]]
* [[Sedative]]
* [[Stimulant]]
{{Div col end}}

==Amalgamated classes==
Some drug classes have been amalgamated from these three principles to meet practical needs. The class of [[nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs]] (NSAIDs) is one such example. Strictly speaking, and also historically, the wider class of anti-inflammatory drugs also comprises [[Corticosteroid|''steroidal'' anti-inflammatory drugs]]. These drugs were in fact the predominant anti-inflammatories during the decade leading up to the introduction of the term "nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs." Because of the disastrous reputation that the corticosteroids had got in the 1950s, the new term, which offered to signal that an anti-inflammatory drug was not a steroid, rapidly gained currency. The drug class of "nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs" (NSAIDs) is thus composed by one element ("anti-inflammatory") that designates the mechanism of action, and one element ("nonsteroidal") that separates it from other drugs with that same mechanism of action. Similarly, one might argue that the class of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARD) is composed by one element ("disease-modifying") that albeit vaguely designates a mechanism of action, and one element ("anti-rheumatic drug") that indicates its therapeutic use.

* [[Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug]] (NSAID)
* [[Disease-modifying antirheumatic drug]] (DMARD)

==Other systems of classification==

Other systems of drug classification exist, for example the [[Biopharmaceutics Classification System]] which determines a drugs' attributes by solubility and intestinal permeability.

== Legal classification ==
* For the UK legal classification, see [[Drugs controlled by the UK Misuse of Drugs Act]] 
* For the US legal classification, see {{section link|Controlled Substances Act|Schedules of controlled substances}}
*For the Canadian legal classification, see [https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-38.8/index.html Controlled Drugs and Substances Act]
* [[Pregnancy category]] is defined using a variety of systems by different jurisdictions

== External links ==
* {{cite web | url = https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/drug-names-and-classes/ | title = Drug names and classes | publisher = United States National Library of Medicine | work = PubMed Health | access-date = 2015-11-07 }}
* {{cite web | url = https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/ | title = Information by Drug Class | publisher = United States Food and Drug Administration | work =  Drug Safety and Availability | access-date = 2015-11-07 }}

{{Medicinal chemistry}}
{{二次利用|date=4 January 2023}}
[[Category:Pharmacodynamics]]
[[Category:Medicinal chemistry]]
[[Category:Pharmacological classification systems]]