The Emergence of a Pharma Repurposing Ecosystem : Evidence of a New Innovation Strategy?

We explore the phenomenon of drug repurposing, the re-use of existing drugs for new disease targets. Repurposing has grown as an approach to R&D in the pharmaceutical sector over the last twenty years, prompted by technological innovations in data science and the availability of new data sources. These have moved repurposing from a serendipitous to a planned activity. The paper characterizes the segment of the pharmaceutical industry that is actively involved in repurposing to assess the number, diversity and demography of organizations involved. We map the emerging ecosystem and links between these organizations and the changing nature of repurposing methods used. We argue that the growth of repurposing is a real phenomenon, but it cannot yet be said to have become established in the mainstream drug industry. Large incumbent drug companies do not feel threatened by the repurposing ecosystem in the same way they did when biotechnology companies emerged in the 1990s. The expansion of repurposing is currently hindered by regulatory and intellectual property factors, and insufficiently attractive for investors. We conclude by discussing the implications for practice, policy and theory