Volume : 13, Issue : 10, October – 2026

Title:

DRUG REPURPOSING: AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH FOR DRUG DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT

Authors :

Alfiya Jakir Tamboli*, Anjali Jagannath Vargar, Snehal Tulshiram Vyawahare, Prof. Snehal Laxman Durande

Abstract :

Drug repurposing, also called drug repositioning, reprofiling or re-tasking, is the strategy of finding new therapeutic uses for approved, withdrawn or investigational drugs outside their original indication. Bringing a new molecule from laboratory to market usually takes more than a decade and costs well over a billion US dollars, and most candidates fail in clinical trials. Because repurposed candidates already have human safety, pharmacokinetic and manufacturing data, they can skip several early stages, which shortens timelines, lowers cost and reduces the risk of failure. This review describes the concept and history of drug repurposing, compares the main strategies (serendipitous, computational and experimental), and explains the tools that support them, including molecular docking, transcriptomic signature matching, network pharmacology, electronic health record mining and artificial intelligence. Well-known examples such as sildenafil, thalidomide, aspirin, metformin, minoxidil and dexamethasone are discussed together with repurposing efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and in cancer, rare and neglected diseases. Regulatory pathways, intellectual property barriers and commercial incentives are also considered. Finally, the scientific, legal and economic challenges that limit the field are outlined, and future directions are suggested. Drug repurposing does not replace conventional discovery, but it is a practical and complementary route to deliver treatments faster, particularly for diseases with unmet medical need.
Keywords: drug repurposing; drug repositioning; drug discovery; computational drug design; artificial intelligence; COVID-19; rare diseases; polypharmacology.

Cite This Article:

Please cite this article in press Alfiya Jakir Tamboli et al., Drug Repurposing: An Innovative Approach For Drug Discovery And Development.,. Indo Am. J. P. Sci, 2026; 13(10).

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