Computational Approaches in Multitarget Drug Discovery

Perspectives on Drug Repurposing

Complex common diseases are a significant burden for our societies and demand not only preventive measures but also more effective, safer, and more affordable treatments. The whole process of the current model of drug discovery and development implies a high investment by the pharmaceutical industry, which ultimately impact in high drug prices. In this sense, drug repurposing would help meet the needs of patients to access useful and novel treatments. Unlike the traditional approach, drug repurposing enters both the preclinical evaluation and clinical trials of the compound of interest faster, budgeting research and development costs, and limiting potential biosafety risks. The participation of government, society, and private investors is needed to secure the funds for experimental design and clinical development of repurposing candidates to have affordable, effective, and safe repurposed drugs. Moreover, extensive advertising of repurposing as a concept in the health community, could reduce prescribing bias when enough clinical evidence exists, which will support the employment of cheaper and more accessible repurposed compounds for common conditions.

Drug repurposing for cancer therapy, easier said than done

Drug repurposing for cancer therapy is currently a hot topic of research. Theoretically, in contrast to the known hurdles of developing new molecular entities, the approach of repurposing has several advantages. Mostly, it is said that it is faster, safer, easier, and cheaper. In the real world, however, there are only three repurposed drugs so far, that are listed in widely recognized cancer guidelines, but a large number of them are being studied. Among the many barriers to repurposing cancer drugs, economical-driven are the most important that difficult the clinical development of them. In this review, we provide an overview of the current status of drug repurposing for cancer therapy and the barriers that need to be overcome to realize the benefit of this approach. It means to have repositioned drugs for cancer therapy accepted as standard therapy for cancer indications at low cost.