Drug Repurposing News and Research

RSS

ANK3 and other genes may play key role in affecting mood, stress and longevity

The visible impacts of depression and stress that can be seen in a person's face -- and contribute to shorter lives -- can also be found in alterations in genetic activity, according to newly published research.

24 May 2016

Finding treatments for rare diseases: an interview with Dr Richard Thompson

It is estimated that around 400 rare diseases have licenced treatments, and a large proportion of these are a consequence of orphan drug legislation, which has helped to incentivise the production of drugs for small patient populations.

4 May 2016

Tackling superbugs with antibiotic resistance breakers: an interview with Professor Colin Garner, Chief Executive, Antibiotic Research UK

Superbugs – or to give them their correct name, antibiotic resistant bacteria – arise on repeated exposure to antibiotics. In any population of bacteria there will be a few that are antibiotic resistant (approximately 1 in 100 million bacteria). If these bacteria are allowed to grow and multiply, an antibiotic resistant infection results.

13 Apr 2016

Researchers report outcomes of dipyridamole drug in treating pterygium and related dry-eye symptoms

At the Israeli Society for Vision and Eye Research conference on March 10, the MedInsight Research Institute and Center for Drug Repurposing at Ariel University presented the latest findings on positive user-reported outcomes of the repurposed drug dipyridamole in treating pterygium and related dry-eye symptoms.

15 Mar 2016

First-ever research programme launched to tackle superbugs

To meet the challenge of the rise in antibiotic resistant bacteria, national charity ‘Antibiotic Research UK is commissioning the first ever research programme to screen antibiotic resistance breakers against antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria.

2 Mar 2016

Rare disease day focuses on new approach to finding treatment

2,200 babies will be born in the UK on 29th February, of which 30 will die of a rare disease before they are five years old.

29 Feb 2016

Drug used to treat Parkinson's and related diseases may delay or prevent macular degeneration

In a major scientific breakthrough, a drug used to treat Parkinson's and related diseases may be able to delay or prevent macular degeneration, the most common form of blindness among older Americans.

10 Nov 2015

Dr. Jian-Dong Li receives $1.6 million to develop novel therapeutic targets to treat middle-ear infections

Dr. Jian-Dong Li, a professor and director of the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Inflammation and Immunity, has received a five-year, $1.6 million federal grant to develop novel anti-inflammatory therapeutics against middle-ear infections.

2 Jul 2015

Common tapeworm drug effectively treats MRSA superbugs in lab

A new study provides evidence from lab experiments that a drug already used in people to fight tapeworms might also prove effective against strains of the superbug MRSA, which kills thousands of people a year in the United States.

24 Apr 2015

Vitamin D3 and metformin show promising results in preventing colorectal cancer

The concept was simple: If two compounds each individually show promise in preventing colon cancer, surely it's worth trying the two together to see if even greater impact is possible.

24 Mar 2015

Researchers use EHRs to uncover hidden drug benefits

With research and development costs for many drugs reaching well into the billions, pharmaceutical companies want more than ever to determine whether their drugs already at market have any hidden therapeutic benefits that could warrant putting additional indications on the label and increase production.

27 Nov 2014

Transparency Life receives SBIR program grant to fund Phase 2a proof-of-concept study for MS

Transparency Life Sciences, LLC (TLS), the world's first clinical-stage drug development company based on open innovation, today announced that it has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program grant to fund a Phase 2a proof-of-concept study testing the utility of the ACE inhibitor lisinopril as an adjunctive therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS).

8 Sep 2014

Research to identify cancer-busting 'genetic partners' can personalize cancer treatment

Despite the revolutionary biotechnological advancements of the last few decades, an ideal anti-cancer treatment - one that's immediately lethal to cancer cells, harmless to healthy cells, and resistant to cancer's relapse - is still a dream.

4 Sep 2014

New article describes about crowdsourcing and drug repurposing needs

Experimental drugs proven safe but perhaps not sufficiently effective in initial testing or against a first disease target may sit gathering dust on the shelves of pharmaceutical companies.

17 Jul 2014

New report reveals potential breakthrough in pterygium treatment

A new report reveals a potential breakthrough in the treatment of a common eye ailment known as pterygium (Surfer's eye) that impacts the vision, eye health, and cosmetic appearance of countless sufferers.

1 Apr 2014

Old FDA-approved drugs may hold promise for treatment of rare, drug-resistant cancer

University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) scientists have shown that old drugs might be able to do new tricks.

14 Feb 2014

Myelin Repair Foundation enters into agreement with NIH to assess MRF-008 for multiple sclerosis

The Myelin Repair Foundation today announced it has entered a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Institutes of Health to assess MRF-008, as a potential therapeutic for multiple sclerosis. This CRADA will facilitate collaboration between the MRF and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the NIH Clinical Center to study MRF-008, a drug identified by the MRF as a potential neuroprotective therapeutic to enhance repair in multiple sclerosis patients.

27 Jan 2014

ADDF, Alzheimer's Society partner to provide funding for research in Alzheimer's disease

Today the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation and the Alzheimer's Society (UK) announced a new partnership that will provide funding for research in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, with the goal of accelerating critical development programs and bringing new treatments to patients. The partnership intends to fund projects up to $1.5 million each focused on drug repurposing, leveraging existing scientific evidence and research to accelerate the drug development process.

24 Jan 2014

New Journal presents techniques for finding new uses for approved drugs

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is pleased to announce Drug Repurposing, Rescue, and Repositioning, a dynamic new peer-reviewed journal that will present techniques and tools for finding new uses for approved drugs—particularly for disorders where no animal model, physiologic abnormality, biochemical pathway, or molecular target has been identified.

12 Dec 2013

Study finds persistent deficiency in new therapeutics for neglected diseases

In a study published today in the open-access journal The Lancet Global Health, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative and other researchers report a persistent deficiency in truly new therapeutics for neglected diseases, despite nominal progress and an acceleration in research and development efforts. This continued 'fatal imbalance' in medical R&D points to the urgent need to develop and deliver groundbreaking new treatments for the world's poorest and most neglected patients.

25 Oct 2013