New uses for old drugs: Novel therapeutic options

Abstract

killer, was used to reduce the mortality rate among heart attack victims; the drug mitomycin, approved for the treatment of gastric and pancreatic cancers, has been found to be useful in the treatment of lung, bladder, breast and cervical cancers, as well as in certain forms of leukemia; trimethoprim, a drug approved to treat pneumonia, has been proved useful as an AIDS management. [4] Moreover, discovering new uses for a new drug that does not work out for its intended use may be another aspect of utilizing the researches and is a valuable strategy because approximately 90% of experimental drugs in the industry fail. In fact, many pharmaceutical companies routinely follow this. The trials of experimental chemotherapy drug pemetrexed were halted following the death of some patients. However, now it is an approved treatment for mesothelioma and is under FDA consideration as a treatment for lung cancer. Pfizer Inc. originally developed the impotence drug sildenafil (viagra) to treat angina. Raloxifene, used for osteoporosis, was a failed contraceptive. Atomoxetine, now used for attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder failed as an antidepressant. [5] The tenacious effort to develop new and specific agents to treat HIV infection is currently accompanied by a reconsideration of existing drugs on the basis of their known or putative effects on the retroviral life cycle and/or the tuning of immune mechanisms. [2] Owing to the limitations with which the scientists can predict the efficacy in humans, medicines introduced for one disease state have subsequently been observed to be of value in unrelated diseases. [6] In many instances, however serendipity plays an important role in the identification of such new uses for the old drugs. The accidental ABSTRACT Introducing a new drug to the market now costs an average of US$ 897 million and is a time consuming process. Discovering new uses for the old drugs offers the advantage of providing time tested drugs for the benefit of the patients. Serendipity plays an important role in this. This therapeutic option may provide cost effective treatment, especially for the developing countries with limited resources. This article focuses on the new potential uses of some common drugs. However, these options need to be pursued by more researches so that the potential benefits could be passed on to the patients.

Nifuroxazide exerts potent anti-tumor and anti-metastasis activity in melanoma

“…Drug discovery is an expensive and time-consuming process, and one solution is to find new uses for the existing drugs 27 . Because of the known pharmacokinetics and safety profiles, the old drugs could be approved by regulatory agencies for human use easily 28 .…”

Antituberculosis therapy for 2012 and beyond

“…Even patients for whom documentation of previous exposure to fluoroquinolones is difficult have high rates of fluoroquinolones resistance, particularly among MDR-TB patients. A recent study from India showed that 15% of isolates from patients with susceptibility to first-line TB drugs were resistant to the fluoroquinolones, as well as almost 40% of isolates with MDR-TB [93]. These studies document the risk of resistance to the fluoroquinolones with current practice.…”

Medication Repurposing: New Uses for Old Drugs

“…Pharmacy practitioners should question potentially inappropriate medication orders, and published evidence to justify new medication uses should be shared with all members of the health-care team. 13 Beyond the aforementioned efficacy and safety concerns, the practice of using old medications in new ways may increase legal risk. While clinicians may be confident using medications for uses with little evidence, patients may be less willing to use drugs in novel ways.…”

“…Discoveries of other new uses may be made as a result of expanded knowledge regarding the pharmacologic properties of a medication, which can lead to identification of potential therapeutic targets. 13,14 Industry-based researchers may also use compound libraries to identify potential compounds of interest. Examples of these libraries include the Johns Hopkins Clinical Compound Library, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke custom collection, the Prestwick Chemical Library, and the Sigma-Aldrich Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds.…”