Medicines repurposing offers new avenues for treating a range of common and rare diseases
Medical research charity LifeArc and the Medical Research Council (MRC) have launched a toolkit which aims to navigate the complex journey of medicines repurposing.
The toolkit will help researchers and charities to prepare for the key activities, potential challenges and important questions at each development stage on the repurposing journey, with the ultimate ambition of ensuring that patients get access to life-changing treatments faster.
Medicines repurposing offers new avenues for treating a range of common and rare diseases – it can reduce the costs and timeframes, and is potentially a source of treatments. This journey of exploring other diseases, however, can be challenging.
Developed in consultation with scientific, industrial and regulatory experts, the toolkit signposts users to a wealth of existing information. It includes advice on the key issues for medicines repurposing at each development stage, such as research steps for demonstrating efficacy, the regulatory environment, patient engagement and accessing medicines.
Professor Patrick Chinnery, MRC’s clinical director, explained: “Having learned the challenges of repurposing first hand, I think this toolkit is enormously practical and valuable. The major opportunities presented by repurposing are speed, so medicines can reach patients faster, and lower costs, which is needed both within the NHS and lower-income countries.”
Dr Joanna Davidge, principal business manager at LifeArc, reflected: “Repurposing medicines offers exciting potential for bringing life-changing new treatments to patients with common and rare diseases, much faster.
“While the path to patients will be unique for each project, the new toolkit will provide useful guidance to support charities, researchers and others embarking on a repurposing journey. It will help them to navigate the potential roadblocks and find ways to overcome them – helping to improve the likelihood of potentially life-changing medicines reaching the people who need them.”
