Arguing for More, and More Rigorous, Drug Repurposing Efforts to Slow Aging

The authors of today's open access paper argue for much greater effort to be directed towards the repurposing of existing drugs with the goal of slowing aging. I have mixed feelings about the prevalence of drug repurposing in the pharmaceutical industry. The FDA makes it so very expensive to introduce any new drug that industry of course responds to the incentives and spends a great deal of time digging through the existing library of approved drugs in search of those that can be used in different circumstances. It is a great deal easier to take a drug with established safety data and seek approval for a new use than it is to carry out the same regulatory process for a new drug. On the one hand, this search of existing drug databases can turn up items like the dasatinib and quercetin combination, a senolytic therapy that is producing impressive displays of rejuvenation in old mice. This is an unusual outcome, and didn't exactly arise from the usual drug repurposing channels, but if it had arisen that way, then it might in and of itself justify much of the effort across the industry. Looking at the broader picture, however, this part of the pharmaceutical industry appears to specialize in pushing entirely marginal therapies into the FDA process. The benefit of known safety data is balanced against (usually) poor performance in treating the target condition in question. If there are presently only poor options for the treatment of a given condition, then a still p...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs