Drug repositioning and repurposing are attractive ways to gain approval for a new therapy in compressed timelines, and can be used for small molecules and biologics across varied indications (see Table 1). However, prioritizing alternative or secondary indications suitable for an approved drug or late stage candidate are challenges that require evidence-based guidance before launching expensive and lengthy in vivo or clinical studies. At Eurofins Discovery, within our Translational Biology Center of Excellence, we offer two platform technologies ideal for in vitro evaluation of your drug repositioning projects.
Table: Diverse drugs and new indications resulting from repurposing efforts
| Drug | Originating Company | Original Indication | Mechanism-of-Action | Repurposing Data Type | New Indication Approval/ Study |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| amantadine | duPont | Influenza | Influenza virus A M2 proton channel antagonist; non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist | – | Parkinson’s disease |
| denosumab | Amgen | Osteoporosis | RANK ligand inhibitor | Pharmacological | Crohn’s disease |
| fingolimod | Yoshitomi Pharmaceuticals | Transplant rejection | Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator | Pharmacological and structural | Multiple sclerosis |
| remdesivir | Gilead | Hepatitis C | Viral RNA replication inhibitor | Clinical | COVID-19 |
| saracatinib | AstraZeneca | Oncology | Dual-specific Src/Abl kinase inhibitor | Pharmacological; in vivo | Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; Alzheimer’s disease |
| sildenafil | Pfizer | Hypertension and angina | Selective cGMP-specific phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor | Clinical | Erectile dysfunction |
| zibotentan | AstraZeneca | Oncology | Selective endothelin A inhibitor | Clinical | Microvascular angina |
The BioMAP® Human Phenotypic Profiling Platform combines physiologically relevant human primary cell-based disease models, advanced analytics, and a comprehensive reference database. In a powerful approach to identify novel translational biomarkers and predict disease impact outside a primary or approved indication. BioMAP Diversity PLUS® allows you to assess multiple indications at the same time in key therapeutic areas including:
- immunology
- inflammation
- fibrosis
- autoimmunity
- oncology
- dermatology
- cardiovascular
- respiratory biology
Our OncoPanel® Cell-Based Profiling Service provides drug response data across a panel of 300+ genomically diverse cancer cells spanning 19 different tissue types. OncoPanel can easily predict suitability of a molecule as a direct anti-cancer drug, in both 2D and 3D spheroid models. Choose from gene family-focused panels; or for repositioning and repurposing strategies opt for our broad tissue type panels. We also offer diverse cancer type and subtype panels.
Adding BioMAP or OncoPanel to your drug repurposing program boosts your ability to:
- Give new life to drugs and candidates by quickly identifying new indications across a broad range of tissue and disease states
- Evaluate multiple therapeutic indications in parallel and compare biomarker activities with approved drugs in that indication space
- Find new markets faster by using a platform that integrates dozens of translational disease models
- Get direct consultation with scientists for personalized data analysis and interpretation to guide candidate advancement
- Obtain a comprehensive data package supporting an evidence-based approach for your drug repositioning efforts
