Drug repurposing in oncology: a path beyond the bottleneck

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Pharmacology
• Drug Discovery

Background:

• Cancer poses a significant global health challenge, necessitating novel and accessible treatments.
• Traditional drug development is slow, expensive, and has high failure rates.
• Drug repurposing, using existing drugs for new indications, presents a viable alternative.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of drug repurposing in anticancer therapy.
• To highlight diverse therapeutic classes and mechanisms of repurposed drugs.
• To discuss regulatory pathways and translational challenges for repurposed anticancer drugs.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on drug repurposing for cancer.
• Identification of repurposed drugs targeting various therapeutic classes (cardiovascular, anti-inflammatory, etc.).
• Analysis of regulatory strategies (e.g., FDA 505(b)(2)) and intellectual property considerations.

Main Results:

• Metformin, thalidomide, and propranolol are highlighted examples of repurposed anticancer drugs.
• Other drugs like statins, sertraline, and ribavirin show potential by targeting specific cancer pathways.
• Regulatory pathways and methods to overcome IP issues are discussed.

Conclusions:

• Drug repurposing is a pragmatic approach to expand oncologic therapeutic options.
• Addressing tumor heterogeneity, regulatory barriers, and translational gaps is crucial for clinical acceptance.
• Repurposed drugs offer efficient, cost-effective, and rapidly deployable cancer therapies, improving patient outcomes.