Repurposing Know-how for Drug Development: Case Studies from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute

Abstract

In pursuing novel therapeutic solutions, drug discovery and development rely on efficiently utilising existing knowledge and resources. Repurposing know-how, a strategy that capitalises on previously acquired information and expertise, has emerged as a powerful approach to accelerate drug discovery and development processes, often at a fraction of the costs of de novo developments. For 80 years, collaborating within a network of partnerships, the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) has been working along a value chain from innovation to validation and application to combat poverty-related diseases. This article presents an overview of selected know-how repurposing initiatives conducted at Swiss TPH with a particular emphasis on the exploration of drug development pathways in the context of neglected tropical diseases and other infectious diseases of poverty, such as schistosomiasis, malaria and human African trypanosomiasis.

Keywords: Drug development; Drug discovery; Human African trypanosomiasis; Malaria; Neglected tropical diseases; Product development partnerships; Public-private partnerships; Repurposing know-how; Schistosomiasis; Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.