Repositioning of Drugs in Cardiometabolic Disorders: Importance and Current Scenario

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research
• Pharmacology and Drug Development

Background:

• Cardiometabolic disorders (CMDs), encompassing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), metabolic syndrome (MS), and diabetes mellitus (DM), are a leading global cause of mortality.
• CMDs account for approximately 32% of worldwide deaths, with projections indicating over 23 million annual fatalities from CVDs by 2030.
• Current therapeutic options are insufficient to mitigate the substantial disease burden and mortality associated with CMDs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the potential of drug repositioning as a viable strategy for addressing the unmet needs in cardiometabolic disorder treatment.
• To highlight the advantages of drug repositioning over traditional new drug discovery (NDD) in the context of CMDs.
• To discuss the concept of drug repositioning with relevant examples in cardiometabolic disorders.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature and case studies on drug repositioning for cardiometabolic disorders.
• Analysis of the advantages of drug repositioning, including established safety profiles and reduced development costs.
• Conceptual discussion of the drug repositioning strategy in the pharmaceutical industry.

Main Results:

• Drug repositioning presents a cost-effective and time-efficient alternative to NDD for CMDs.
• Established safety profiles of existing drugs significantly reduce the risk of failure due to toxicity.
• Pharmaceutical interest in drug repositioning for CMDs is increasing due to its inherent advantages.

Conclusions:

• Drug repositioning is a promising avenue for developing novel therapies for cardiometabolic disorders.
• This strategy offers a faster and more economical pathway to new treatments compared to de novo drug discovery.
• Further investigation and application of drug repositioning are warranted to combat the growing global burden of CMDs.