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Drug Development · The big question

Old Drugs, New Tricks: Repurposing Medicines for Pandemics

Repurposed Medicines for Viruses With Epidemic or Pandemic Potential: A Horizon Scan.

PubMed2 min readAI-assisted summary
Editorial illustration for Repurposed Medicines for Viruses With Epidemic or Pandemic Potential: A Horizon Scan.
Editorial illustration

Summary

When a new virus emerges, developing a treatment from scratch takes years. To speed things up, scientists often look at existing medications to see if they can fight new threats, a process known as drug repurposing. A recent sweeping review, called a horizon scan, searched medical literature and clinical trial databases to see how many existing drugs are being tested against viruses with pandemic potential. The researchers found 196 repurposed drug candidates in the scientific literature, with 58 currently in active clinical development.

These investigated medicines mostly fall into categories like direct-acting antivirals, which stop viruses from multiplying, alongside medications that calm the immune system and reduce inflammation. However, the study revealed that active human testing is highly concentrated. Almost all interventional clinical trials are restricted to just two viruses: SARS-CoV-2 and influenza. Specifically, 29 treatments for SARS-CoV-2 and two for influenza have made it to advanced Phase III trials, which is the final testing step before general approval.

For other highly dangerous viruses like Ebola, Marburg, MERS, and mpox, the research is lagging. Potential treatments for these diseases are still stuck in early exploratory or laboratory testing phases. The study authors also strongly caution that just because a drug is being investigated does not mean it will actually work. Before any repurposed medicine can be given to patients, it still requires rigorous lab validation and testing to prove it is safe, effective, and behaves correctly in the human body.

Why it matters.

Finding ways to treat emerging viruses is one of the most urgent challenges in global public health. Developing a brand new medication can take over a decade and massive financial resources, which is time we simply do not have during a fast-moving outbreak. By repurposing already approved medicines, doctors can potentially bypass years of initial safety testing, offering a much faster and more cost-effective strategy to expand our treatment options during public health emergencies.

However, this research highlights a critical blind spot in our global preparedness. While the 31 advanced trials for COVID-19 and the flu show that drug repurposing is a viable strategy, the complete lack of advanced human trials for pathogens like Ebola and Marburg leaves the world vulnerable. To truly prepare for the next pandemic, the medical industry will need to push early research out of the lab and into active clinical trials for a much wider variety of viral threats.

From the source

The story in numbers.

Repurposed technologies identified from literature
196
Technologies in active clinical development
58
SARS-CoV-2 technologies advancing to phase III
29
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