Drug repurposing progress in spinal cord injury

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Drug repurposing has gained popularity as a means of creating a new use for already existing medications leading to reduced drug development costs and times; replacing an original drug to counter toxic adverse effects; reducing the cost and effort of a lengthy drug design process and finding a better approach for treatment. However, there are challenges related to adopting repurposed pharmaceuticals owing to hurdles such as cost effectiveness, the complicated clinical trial process and a lack of interest by pharmaceutical companies and researchers to participate in finding the repurposed effect of an existing drug. Drug repurposing has gained popularity as a means of creating new medications because of its many benefits, including reduced drug development costs and times. However, it comes with its own unique set of difficulties like lack of a specific target, limited knowledge of the mechanism of action, improper dose optimisation and clinical trial design. The pharmaceutical industry will need to show creativity and persistence to overcome the challenges associated with medication repurposing. While there has been much progress in the discovery of medicines for SCI, there remains an immediate requirement for innovative therapeutic pharmaceuticals that may intervene in essential pathways involved in SCI development. With the increasing understanding and enthusiasm among scientific and pharmaceutical communities around drug repurposing, the search for novel SCI treatment options is moving in the right direction.

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