Drug Repurposing in the Chemotherapy of Infectious Diseases.
Molecules
; 29(3)2024 Jan 29.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38338378
ABSTRACT
Repurposing is a universal mechanism for innovation, from the evolution of feathers to the invention of Velcro tape. Repurposing is particularly attractive for drug development, given that it costs more than a billion dollars and takes longer than ten years to make a new drug from scratch. The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a large number of drug repurposing activities. At the same time, it has highlighted potential pitfalls, in particular when concessions are made to the target product profile. Here, we discuss the pros and cons of drug repurposing for infectious diseases and analyze different ways of repurposing. We distinguish between opportunistic and rational approaches, i.e., just saving time and money by screening compounds that are already approved versus repurposing based on a particular target that is common to different pathogens. The latter can be further distinguished into divergent and convergent points of attack that are divergent share common ancestry (e.g., prokaryotic targets in the apicoplast of malaria parasites), whereas those that are convergent arise from a shared lifestyle (e.g., the susceptibility of bacteria, parasites, and tumor cells to antifolates due to their high rate of DNA synthesis). We illustrate how such different scenarios can be capitalized on by using examples of drugs that have been repurposed to, from, or within the field of anti-infective chemotherapy.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Enfermedades Transmisibles
/
COVID-19
Límite:
Animals
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Molecules
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Sudán
Pais de publicación:
Suiza