Accelerating the development of drug repositioning and combination therapies for healthy ageing

Active: 2020.02.01 - 2021.04.30
UK SPINE Scientific Liaison: Monica Spisar

Data indicate that certain drugs currently approved for treatment of specific diseases are associated with increased lifespan. A subset of these drugs is being investigated for potential repositioning as interventions which support improved healthspan. This work systematizes the prioritization of opportunities for repositioning and repurposing drugs to support healthy aging in relation to safety considerations.

Age-associated multimorbidity leads to significant incidence of polypharmacy in the elderly. Safety data regarding toxicity and drug-drug interactions can provide valuable guidance in triaging the selection of potential drugs and drug combinations for repositioning as therapeutic interventions for aging. Using bioinformatics methods, a safe set of drugs will be generated.

Search parameter identification and refinement will generate a parameter set of disease, prototypical polypharmacy and tolerated levels of side effect incidence and contraindications. Analytic workflows will be developed to apply the parameter set to pharmaceutical databases of approved drugs. Opportunities to develop new therapies and novel combinations of therapeutics and repositioning strategies suitable for an elderly population will thus be identified.

An analytical workflow will also be developed to interrogate approved therapeutics, identifying a set that would be a robust and generally accepted as safe set for use in both preclinical and elderly clinical dosing/repurposing.

Recommendations regarding drug repositioning and repurposing for healthy ageing will be reported, and a project plan for further validation and selection of treatment candidates generated.

Project output

Drug Repurposing for Elderly And Multimorbid
https://www.dr-eam.ai

As part of a UK-SPINE funded project, Medicines Discovery Catapult have assembled relevant data to allow selection of drugs for repositioning based on application of a series of filters relevant to efficacy, tolerability and safety in an elderly population. We see the data as providing a framework and prioritised set of drugs for repositioning in an elderly and multimorbid patient group, and also allowing the identification of potential issues and consideration of all approved drugs.