Table 3 Examples of drug repositioning applications in various disease areas and related therapeutics
Disease area | Drug name/active ingredients | Original indication | New indication(s) | New indication(s) status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Depression | Duloxetine hydrochloride | Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) | Neuropathic pain, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), osteoarthritis, and stress incontinence | Approved |
Fluoxetine hydrochloride | Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) | Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) | Approved | |
Sibutramine hydrochloride | Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) | Obesity | Approved | |
Neurology | Atomoxetine hydrochloride | Parkinson’s disease (PD) | Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) | Approved |
Ropinirole hydrochloride | Hypertension (HTN) | Parkinson’s disease (PD) | Approved | |
Non-neurology | Minoxidil | Hypertension (HTN) | Hair loss | Approved |
Finasteride | Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) | Hair loss | Approved | |
Zidovudine | Failed clinical trials for cancer | Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) | Approved | |
Sildenafil | Angina | Erectile dysfunction (ED) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) | Approved | |
Cancer | Auranofin | Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) | Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) | Approved |
Imatinib | Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) | Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) | Approved | |
Irinotecan hydrochloride | Colorectal cancer | Pancreatic cancer | Approved | |
Nelfinavir | Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) | Colorectal cancer, lung cancer, cervical cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, metastatic cancer | Investigational | |
| Â | Metformin hydrochloride | Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) | Breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, endometrial cancer, colorectal cancer, and esophageal cancer | Investigational |
Trastuzumab | Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer | Metastatic breast cancer, gastric cancer, and early breast cancer | Approved | |
Sunitinib | Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) | Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) | Approved | |
Crizotinib | Clinical trials for anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) | Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) | Approved | |
Infectious | Thalidomide | Morning sickness (withdrawn) | Erythema nodosum leprosum (Leprosy) | Approved |
Everolimus | Immunosuppressant | Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs), renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and subependymal giant cell astrocytoma (SEGA) | Approved | |
Sirolimus | Organ rejection in patients receiving renal transplants | Malaria | Investigational | |
Rare and orphan | Alefacept | Chronic plaque psoriasis | Rejection in patients receiving allogeneic solid organ transplants | Investigational |
Indium In-111 pentetreotide | Agent for the scintigraphic localization of primary and metastatic neuroendocrine tumors | Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) | Investigational |