Drug repositioning

Use of existing drugs for new therapeutic purposes Drug repositioning (also called drug repurposing) involves the investigation of existing drugs for new therapeutic purposes. Repurposing achievements Repurposing generics can have groundbreaking effects for patients: 35% of 'transformative' drugs approved by the US FDA are repurposed products. Repurposing is especially relevant for rare or neglected diseases. A number of successes have been achieved, the foremost including sildenafil (Viagra) for erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension and thalidomide for leprosy and multiple myeloma. Clinical trials have been performed on posaconazole and ravuconazole for Chagas disease. Other antifungal agents clotrimazole and ketoconazole have been investigated for anti-trypanosome therapy. Successful repositioning of antimicrobials has led to the discovery of broad-spectrum therapeutics, which are effective against multiple infection types. Strategy Drug repositioning is a "universal strategy" for neglected diseases due to 1) reduced number of required clinical trial steps could reduce the time and costs for the medicine to reach market, 2) existing pharmaceutical supply chains could fa