Repurposed drugs

NHS England's Medicines Repurposing Programme ‘aims to: identify and develop opportunities to repurpose prioritised medicines to improve outcomes, patient experience and value for money; support and advance innovative research into medicines that might be repurposed and adopted into the NHS; [and] facilitate and encourage the licensing of repurposed medicines to support clinical decision making and improve equity of access’ (NHS England, 2024).

Drug repurposing, also known as drug repositioning, drug rescuing, drug reprofiling, drug recycling or therapeutic switching, ‘is regarded as the most effective strategy in developing drug candidates using novel pharmacological properties and therapeutic characteristics of well-known drugs’ (Mohi-ud-din et al, 2023).

In a wide-ranging review of non-oncology drugs that may provide therapeutic options for cancer treatment, Mohi-ud-din et al (2023) highlight the diversity of chemotherapeutic classes in which these drugs are found, and they include ‘antimalarials, antibiotics, antivirals, anti inflammatory drugs, and antifungals, and have demonstrated significant antiproliferative, pro apoptotic, immunomodulatory, and antimetastatic properties.’