Drug repurposing: Iron in the fire for older drugs

Enhancing the anticancer immune response with the assistance of drug repurposing and delivery systems

“…One is that repurposed drugs have already been tested for their safety and toxicity, and passed through necessary dose explorations, which vastly reduces approval times for their new applications. Also, their structures, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics or even mechanisms of action are vastly decoded 11 . However, it is important to mention that before any drug can be repurposed, it must undergo rigorous and additional preclinical and clinical research, regardless of whether the drug has previously undergone toxicity testing and dose exploration.…”

Inclusion of Nitrofurantoin into the Realm of Cancer Chemotherapy via Biology-Oriented Synthesis and Drug Repurposing

“…The latter design incorporated more diverse bioactive fragments (such as propargyl group, substituted benzyl, and phenacyl groups in addition to 4-substituted phenyl-1,2,3triazole) at N3 of the hydantoin motif. Since drug repurposing is a straightforward application of polypharmacology, 5 our design was attempted to achieve a multitargeting profile with the aim of expanding the biological space for the nitrofuran class of drugs.…”

“…The latter design incorporated more diverse bioactive fragments (such as propargyl group, substituted benzyl, and phenacyl groups in addition to 4-substituted phenyl-1,2,3-triazole) at N3 of the hydantoin motif. Since drug repurposing is a straightforward application of polypharmacology, our design was attempted to achieve a multitargeting profile with the aim of expanding the biological space for the nitrofuran class of drugs. Capitalizing on the nitrofuran scaffold, we herein present a new series of nitrofurantoin antitumor derivatives that are not only apoptogenic but also inhibit MDM2/p53 interaction, enhance ATM activation, and induce DNA damage.…”

“…Under the same definition lies drug design programs that use a drug as a starting material for identifying new biological targets. − A major privilege of the latter approach is the exploitation of an already well-established drug space in terms of optimized physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties . Hence, such an approach proved to be faster and more cost-effective and is associated with lower attrition rates than the traditional drug development process …”

“…4 Hence, such an approach proved to be faster and more cost-effective and is associated with lower attrition rates than the traditional drug development process. 5 In particular, in the area of cancer research, drug repurposing manifested itself as a fertile soil for the development of efficacious anticancer agents. For example, anthracyclines and thalidomide 6 are repurposed drugs that are already used in clinical practice to treat cancer.…”