Try “drug repurposing” with any web search engine and you will see that the concept of finding new applications for known drugs, drug candidates in clinical development, and investigational molecules that have failed their original application has become quite popular.
Browse this blog and you will see that H.M. Pharma Consultancy routinely flags and briefly reviews several international patent applications in this field every month. Meanwhile there is also no shortage of peer review papers that deal with drug repurposing as such, or highlight programs aimed at identifying unexpected new uses, or report specific examples of drug repurposing. These papers appear in a variety of journals, mostly in those that cover technologies of drug design and discovery, or focus on the classes of diseases for which potential new opportunities are being found, or even on applied computational theory.
What appears to be still missing is a regular peer review journal dedicated to drug repurposing. In case we have somehow missed it, please tell us. Assuming that we have assessed the gap correctly, we propose that such a journal be founded.
Obviously it would have to be a multidisciplinary journal, one that calls for contributions from all the many aspects of pharmacology, high-content screening, systems biology, in silico docking, strategic patenting, text analysis, and market surveillance. It would have to be professionally organized and properly promoted, to stand out and get recognized among the innumerable other journals that keep popping up without end. It is only by excellence that the Journal of Drug Repurposing could attract authors who provide high quality content. At this earliest proposal stage, where we basically call for input from the community, we remain completely open with respect to the business model.
While H.M. Pharma Consultancy cannot provide substantial financing, we would commit ourselves to support the project by making existing resources of other types available. We could also provide coordination and content.
Interested parties, including potential authors and editors, are cordially invited to join our professional networking group “Drug repurposing – reprofiling – repositioning ” on LinkedIn, which for the past three years has provided a platform for all individuals and organizations interested in the subject. All discussion contributions are welcome.
Of course you can also send us email at the dedicated inbox, JDrugRep@hmpharmacon.com.