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Drug repurposing for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders

Author

Listed:
  • Jeffrey L. Cummings

    (Las Vegas (UNLV))

  • Yadi Zhou

    (Cleveland)

  • Alexandra Stone

    (Roseman University of Health Sciences)

  • Davis Cammann

    (University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV))

  • Reina Tonegawa-Kuji

    (Cleveland)

  • Jorge Fonseca

    (Las Vegas (UNLV))

  • Feixiong Cheng

    (Cleveland
    Case Western Reserve University
    Cleveland
    Cleveland)

Abstract

Repurposed drugs provide a rich source of potential therapies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders (NDD). Repurposed drugs have information from non-clinical studies, phase 1 dosing, and safety and tolerability data collected with the original indication. Computational approaches, “omic” studies, drug databases, and electronic medical records help identify candidate therapies. Generic repurposed agents lack intellectual property protection and are rarely advanced to late-stage trials for AD/NDD. In this review we define repurposing, describe the advantages and challenges of repurposing, offer strategies for overcoming the obstacles, and describe the key contributions of repurposing to the drug development ecosystem.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeffrey L. Cummings & Yadi Zhou & Alexandra Stone & Davis Cammann & Reina Tonegawa-Kuji & Jorge Fonseca & Feixiong Cheng, 2025. "Drug repurposing for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-56690-4
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56690-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Karel H. Pol & Mohamad Aljofan & Olivier Blin & Jan H. Cornel & Gerard A. Rongen & Aurélie-Gaëlle Woestelandt & Michael Spedding, 2023. "Drug Repurposing of Generic Drugs: Challenges and the Potential Role for Government," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 21(6), pages 831-840, November.
    2. Sanzenbacher, Geoffrey T. & Wettstein, Gal, 2020. "Drug insurance and the strategic behavior of drug manufacturers: Evergreening and generic entry after Medicare Part D," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. Feixiong Cheng & Weiqiang Lu & Chuang Liu & Jiansong Fang & Yuan Hou & Diane E. Handy & Ruisheng Wang & Yuzheng Zhao & Yi Yang & Jin Huang & David E. Hill & Marc Vidal & Charis Eng & Joseph Loscalzo, 2019. "A genome-wide positioning systems network algorithm for in silico drug repurposing," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Nguyen Xuan Nguyen & Steven H. Sheingold & Wafa Tarazi & Arielle Bosworth, 2022. "Effect of Competition on Generic Drug Prices," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 243-253, March.
    5. Chengxi Zang & Hao Zhang & Jie Xu & Hansi Zhang & Sajjad Fouladvand & Shreyas Havaldar & Feixiong Cheng & Kun Chen & Yong Chen & Benjamin S. Glicksberg & Jin Chen & Jiang Bian & Fei Wang, 2023. "High-throughput target trial emulation for Alzheimer’s disease drug repurposing with real-world data," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    6. Dongmin Bang & Sangsoo Lim & Sangseon Lee & Sun Kim, 2023. "Biomedical knowledge graph learning for drug repurposing by extending guilt-by-association to multiple layers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-17, December.
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