Drug repurposing, which involves discovering new indications or mechanisms of action for existing drugs, is a critical direction in modern drug development. This strategy can significantly shorten the time from the lab to market, reduce research and development costs, and increase the success rate of drug development. Particularly, the discovery of new uses for existing drugs has immense potential to accelerate the development of new therapies and improve patient care. However, while pursuing new uses for old drugs, we must also pay attention to potential new toxicities and toxicological mechanisms that these drugs may exhibit in new indications.

Drug repurposing is a rapidly developing field aimed at utilizing approved drugs for novel applications. However, the field confronts several critical challenges that demand immediate attention: 1. How to effectively screen and identify a potential new use of the approved drugs, along with gaining an in-depth understanding of these novel applications; 2. How to balance the safety, and efficiency and avoid the potential side effect of repurposed drugs; 3. Drug repurposing research should be patient-centered, based on clinical needs and scientific evidence, primarily focusing on unmet clinical needs; 4. The study should be based on scientific hypotheses, which may stem from the known mechanisms of the approved drugs or predicted through computational biology and bioinformatics methods.

The scope of this Research Topic includes, but is not limited to, the following aspects:

• Discovery and validation of new drug indications: Including preclinical and clinical studies, and experiments studies to explore and validate the efficacy, safety, and potential side effects for drug repositioning.

• Insights into the drug mechanisms of new application: Using molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, and other methods to reveal the mechanisms of action and potential toxicity of drugs within novel indications.

• Drug-target interactions and toxicology studies: Exploring the performance between drugs and novel molecular targets, and analyzing their related potential toxic effects.

• Translational medical research and drug safety assessment: Particular emphasis on safety assessments and toxicity monitoring within novel indications.

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Frontiers in Pharmacology

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