Exactly one week ago we founded the professional networking group “Drug Repurposing – Reprofiling – Repositioning” on LinkedIn, and I am happy to tell you that it was an immediate success. No less than 17 people joined during the first three days of the group`s existence — and that was over a weekend! Today we stand at 41 members, and whats even more important, every single one of those is a pertinent expert with connections and interests in the repurposing field. CEOs and other A-level managers are heavily in evidence. True to its cross-sectional nature, the group has every facet of medicine and the life sciences represented — companies of all stripes (from pharma to bioinformatics), universities, CROs, consultancies, and non-profit organizations including the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation and charities such as the Partnership for Cures, to whom we extend our particular welcome. Vivid discussions have already sprung up, and while keeping track its not a problem yet, I can envisage it becoming one eventually.
Repositioned drug candidates make better use of all resources, not only R&D investments. As one contributor to the group succinctly put it, “it signals what is possible and what we as drug discovery scientists should be orientated towards: squeezing every last drop of patient benefit from treatments and therapies!”