Open AccessDrug Repurposing: A Paradigm Shift in Drug Discovery
Author(s) -
Saravanan Jayaram,
Emdormi Rymbai,
Deepa Sugumar,
Divakar Selvaraj
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of applied pharmaceutical sciences and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2455-8095
DOI - 10.21477/ijapsr.5.4.2
Subject(s) - drug repositioning , drug discovery , repurposing , drug , identification (biology) , medicine , drug development , computer science , pharmacology , bioinformatics , engineering , biology , botany , waste management
The traditional methods of drug discovery and drug development are a tedious, complex, and costly process.Target identification, target validation; lead identification; and lead optimization are a lengthy and unreliableprocess that further complicates the discovery of new drugs. A study of more than 15 years reports that thesuccess rate in the discovery of new drugs in the fields of ophthalmology, cardiovascular, infectious disease,and oncology to be 32.6%, 25.5%, 25.2% and 3.4%, respectively. A tedious and costly process coupled with avery low success rate makes the traditional drug discovery a less attractive option. Therefore, an alternative totraditional drug discovery is drug repurposing, a process in which already existing drugs are repurposed forconditions other than which were originally intended. Typical examples of repurposed drugs are thalidomide,sildenafil, memantine, mirtazapine, mifepristone, etc. In recent times, several databases have been developedto hasten drug repurposing based on the side effect profile, the similarity of chemical structure, and target site.This work reviews the pivotal role of drug repurposing in drug discovery and the databases currently availablefor drug repurposing.