DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Drug Repurposing - Global Strategic Business Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The global market for Drug Repurposing was valued at US$29.4 Billion in 2024 and is projected to reach US$37.3 Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 4.1% from 2024 to 2030. This comprehensive report provides an in-depth analysis of market trends, drivers, and forecasts, helping you make informed business decisions. The report includes the most recent global tariff developments and how they impact the Drug Repurposing market.
Drug repurposing - also known as drug repositioning - involves identifying new therapeutic uses for existing or previously shelved drugs. This approach is experiencing a renaissance as pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and health authorities seek faster, more cost-effective pathways to address unmet medical needs. Traditional drug development can take over a decade and cost billions, with high rates of clinical failure. In contrast, repurposed drugs have already cleared significant safety and pharmacokinetic hurdles, enabling developers to bypass early-stage trials and significantly reduce time to market. This has made repurposing a highly attractive strategy, particularly in areas like rare diseases, oncology, neurodegenerative disorders, and infectious diseases.
What Is Driving Growth and Strategic Investment in Drug Repurposing?
The growth in the drug repurposing market is driven by several factors related to technological enablement, regulatory facilitation, and evolving pharmaceutical strategies. AI and bioinformatics platforms are significantly improving the success rate of repurposing projects by predicting mechanisms of action and identifying off-target effects with high precision. The availability of large-scale biomedical datasets - including omics profiles, disease registries, and patient-level data - provides fertile ground for cross-indication mapping and drug efficacy modeling. These technologies reduce the risk, cost, and time traditionally associated with de novo drug development.
End-use adoption is also accelerating. Biotechnology firms are increasingly pursuing repurposing as a core business model, while large pharma companies are integrating repurposing into life-cycle management to extend the value of off-patent or low-performing assets. Regulatory bodies are introducing streamlined pathways for approvals - such as the 505(b)(2) route in the U.S. - which allows developers to leverage existing safety and efficacy data while only requiring supplemental clinical evidence for new indications. This has created a favorable environment for licensing, joint ventures, and venture capital investment in repurposing ventures.
Furthermore, patient advocacy groups and rare disease foundations are lobbying for and funding repurposing studies, driving both awareness and clinical momentum. These combined forces are ensuring that drug repurposing remains a strategic and rapidly growing pillar in the global pharmaceutical innovation ecosystem.
What Are the Emerging Trends Transforming the Drug Repurposing Landscape?
A major trend reshaping the repurposing market is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into drug discovery pipelines. Computational models can now analyze massive datasets - ranging from genomic data to real-world evidence and electronic health records - to identify novel drug-disease relationships. AI-driven platforms are enabling in silico screening of compound libraries to prioritize candidates for preclinical and clinical evaluation. This is especially impactful in rare disease treatment and precision oncology, where traditional pipelines often struggle due to limited patient populations and high R&D costs.
Collaborative consortia and public-private partnerships are also on the rise. Initiatives like the NIH's NCATS (National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences) and Open Targets are pooling data and resources across academia, industry, and government to accelerate repurposing efforts. Additionally, patent expiration of blockbuster drugs is fueling new interest in repurposing by generics and specialty pharma companies. Regulatory frameworks are evolving too - efforts to provide clearer guidance for 505(b)(2) approvals in the U.S. and adaptive licensing models in Europe are making it easier to navigate the intellectual property and clinical validation landscape. These trends are creating fertile ground for innovation, collaboration, and accelerated drug development across disease areas.
Which Therapeutic Areas Are Benefiting Most from Repurposing Strategies?
The impact of drug repurposing is most visible in complex and underserved therapeutic areas. In oncology, for instance, repurposed drugs are being explored as adjuvants or second-line treatments. Metformin (a diabetes drug), propranolol (a beta-blocker), and itraconazole (an antifungal) have shown anticancer potential in various studies. In neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, drugs targeting inflammation, cholesterol metabolism, and mitochondrial function are being repositioned to slow disease progression - areas where novel therapies have struggled. This repurposing model offers new hope in high-failure domains by leveraging known pharmacodynamics to target secondary pathways.
In infectious diseases, especially with rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR), repositioned antivirals and antibiotics are filling critical gaps. For example, certain anticancer agents have shown unexpected antibacterial or antifungal effects, while psychiatric drugs are being investigated for their immunomodulatory roles in viral infections. Autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis, also stand to benefit, as researchers uncover overlapping pathways with other disease classes. Even mental health treatments are seeing cross-utility - ketamine's use in treatment-resistant depression is a prime example. These cross-therapeutic applications are broadening the value proposition of many legacy drugs, supporting their reintegration into modern treatment paradigms.
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