Why are we repurposing old drugs to fight new diseases, and what might be the implications for COVID-19?
Why are we repurposing old drugs to fight new diseases, and what might be the implications for COVID-19?
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There is a whole branch of medical research and pharmaceutical companies dedicated to drug repurposing. In practice, it has led to some therapeutic breakthroughs. For example, aspirin which is historically known for treatment of pain, fever or inflammation, has then be found to be effective against some cardiovascular diseases and is now being studied for potential anti-tumor growth in some cancers. Developing new treatments against new diseases often takes several years, if not decades. With the COVID-19 pandemic death toll increasing by the day, scientists are racing to find drugs that could prevent, treat or simply decrease the severity of COVID-19. Scientists have therefore turned their attention to studying drugs that have been studied for other viruses like the MERS coronavirus, HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), hepatitis C, ebola, influenza, etc. to see whether these drugs would also be effective against this new threat, COVID-19. Since these studies build on existing knowledge, the drug development timeline is substantially shortened, as is the required financial investment. Beyond the time-intensive process of developing new drugs, the advantages of repurposing drugs are numerous. First, existing drugs already have an existing safety track record, and have obtained regulatory approval or are in the later stages of clinical trials. Moreover, they have already been produced and may already be on the market, so plans to increase manufacturing can rapidly occur since the infrastructure already exists and does not need to be re-created. Because of this, scientists can focus on studying whether these drugs are effective against COVID-19, and if so, they can be brought to clinical use at the bedside of patients rapidly. Drug repurposing is very common in medical research as science rarely happens in a vacuum, but rather builds on previous iterations and experience.
There is a whole branch of medical research and pharmaceutical companies dedicated to drug repurposing. In practice, it has led to some therapeutic breakthroughs. For example, aspirin which is historically known for treatment of pain, fever or inflammation, has then be found to be effective against some cardiovascular diseases and is now being studied for potential anti-tumor growth in some cancers. Developing new treatments against new diseases often takes several years, if not decades. With the COVID-19 pandemic death toll increasing by the day, scientists are racing to find drugs that could prevent, treat or simply decrease the severity of COVID-19. Scientists have therefore turned their attention to studying drugs that have been studied for other viruses like the MERS coronavirus, HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), hepatitis C, ebola, influenza, etc. to see whether these drugs would also be effective against this new threat, COVID-19. Since these studies build on existing knowledge, the drug development timeline is substantially shortened, as is the required financial investment. Beyond the time-intensive process of developing new drugs, the advantages of repurposing drugs are numerous. First, existing drugs already have an existing safety track record, and have obtained regulatory approval or are in the later stages of clinical trials. Moreover, they have already been produced and may already be on the market, so plans to increase manufacturing can rapidly occur since the infrastructure already exists and does not need to be re-created. Because of this, scientists can focus on studying whether these drugs are effective against COVID-19, and if so, they can be brought to clinical use at the bedside of patients rapidly. Drug repurposing is very common in medical research as science rarely happens in a vacuum, but rather builds on previous iterations and experience.
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What our experts say
There is a whole branch of medical research and pharmaceutical companies dedicated to drug repurposing. In practice, it has led to some therapeutic breakthroughs. For example, aspirin which is historically known for treatment of pain, fever or inflammation, has then be found to be effective against some cardiovascular diseases and is now being studied for potential anti-tumor growth in some cancers.
Developing new treatments against new diseases often takes several years, if not decades. With the COVID-19 pandemic death toll increasing by the day, scientists are racing to find drugs that could prevent, treat or simply decrease the severity of COVID-19. Scientists have therefore turned their attention to studying drugs that have been studied for other viruses like the MERS coronavirus, HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), hepatitis C, ebola, influenza, etc. to see whether these drugs would also be effective against this new threat, COVID-19. Since these studies build on existing knowledge, the drug development timeline is substantially shortened, as is the required financial investment. Beyond the time-intensive process of developing new drugs, the advantages of repurposing drugs are numerous. First, existing drugs already have an existing safety track record, and have obtained regulatory approval or are in the later stages of clinical trials. Moreover, they have already been produced and may already be on the market, so plans to increase manufacturing can rapidly occur since the infrastructure already exists and does not need to be re-created. Because of this, scientists can focus on studying whether these drugs are effective against COVID-19, and if so, they can be brought to clinical use at the bedside of patients rapidly. Drug repurposing is very common in medical research as science rarely happens in a vacuum, but rather builds on previous iterations and experience.
There is a whole branch of medical research and pharmaceutical companies dedicated to drug repurposing. In practice, it has led to some therapeutic breakthroughs. For example, aspirin which is historically known for treatment of pain, fever or inflammation, has then be found to be effective against some cardiovascular diseases and is now being studied for potential anti-tumor growth in some cancers.
Developing new treatments against new diseases often takes several years, if not decades. With the COVID-19 pandemic death toll increasing by the day, scientists are racing to find drugs that could prevent, treat or simply decrease the severity of COVID-19. Scientists have therefore turned their attention to studying drugs that have been studied for other viruses like the MERS coronavirus, HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), hepatitis C, ebola, influenza, etc. to see whether these drugs would also be effective against this new threat, COVID-19. Since these studies build on existing knowledge, the drug development timeline is substantially shortened, as is the required financial investment. Beyond the time-intensive process of developing new drugs, the advantages of repurposing drugs are numerous. First, existing drugs already have an existing safety track record, and have obtained regulatory approval or are in the later stages of clinical trials. Moreover, they have already been produced and may already be on the market, so plans to increase manufacturing can rapidly occur since the infrastructure already exists and does not need to be re-created. Because of this, scientists can focus on studying whether these drugs are effective against COVID-19, and if so, they can be brought to clinical use at the bedside of patients rapidly. Drug repurposing is very common in medical research as science rarely happens in a vacuum, but rather builds on previous iterations and experience.
Context and background
Drug repurposing is a safe and successful pathway to speed up drug discovery and development compared with starting from scratch. Drug repurposing uses drugs that have either received regulatory approval, have failed in clinical trials or are in later stages of clinical trials, in order to leverage their detailed information on safety, toxicity, formulation, manufacturing plans, etc. Beyond the pandemic context, it is playing a vital role in several therapeutic areas, including, the discovery of new antibiotics and the development of drugs to combat Alzheimer’s disease. For example, Rifabutin is an antibiotic that has been around for decades and is used to treat tuberculosis, especially in people with HIV/AIDS. Recently, the drug was found to be effective against a superbug ‘Acinetobacter baumannii’ which emerged during the Iraq War in military treatment facilities. This antibiotic had been overlooked until now for this disease but new technology has allowed scientists to discover new strengths of this long existing antibiotic. Another recent example of successful drug repurposing comes from a Phase II clinical trial result that has shown that a leukemia drug – nilotinib, usually used to treat cancer of the blood cells – has been found to be safe and well tolerated and effective in reducing the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.
Drug repurposing is a safe and successful pathway to speed up drug discovery and development compared with starting from scratch. Drug repurposing uses drugs that have either received regulatory approval, have failed in clinical trials or are in later stages of clinical trials, in order to leverage their detailed information on safety, toxicity, formulation, manufacturing plans, etc. Beyond the pandemic context, it is playing a vital role in several therapeutic areas, including, the discovery of new antibiotics and the development of drugs to combat Alzheimer’s disease. For example, Rifabutin is an antibiotic that has been around for decades and is used to treat tuberculosis, especially in people with HIV/AIDS. Recently, the drug was found to be effective against a superbug ‘Acinetobacter baumannii’ which emerged during the Iraq War in military treatment facilities. This antibiotic had been overlooked until now for this disease but new technology has allowed scientists to discover new strengths of this long existing antibiotic. Another recent example of successful drug repurposing comes from a Phase II clinical trial result that has shown that a leukemia drug – nilotinib, usually used to treat cancer of the blood cells – has been found to be safe and well tolerated and effective in reducing the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.
Resources
- Repurposing existing drugs offers a more rapid alternative to a vaccine (Science Daily)
- Repurposed drugs may help scientists fight the new coronavirus (ScienceNews)
- Drug repurposing for antimicrobial discovery (Nature)
- Deadly superbug could get a vigorous foe in repurposed antibiotic (Phys.org)
- Leukemia drug nilotinib safe, shows promise against Alzheimer's disease (UPI)
- Repurposing existing drugs offers a more rapid alternative to a vaccine (Science Daily)
- Repurposed drugs may help scientists fight the new coronavirus (ScienceNews)
- Drug repurposing for antimicrobial discovery (Nature)
- Deadly superbug could get a vigorous foe in repurposed antibiotic (Phys.org)
- Leukemia drug nilotinib safe, shows promise against Alzheimer's disease (UPI)
