New drug development is a process that faces significant challenges, such as high failure rates, exorbitant costs and long development times. In this context, drug repurposing has emerged as an innovative and efficient strategy. This practice consists of identifying new therapeutic applications for drugs already on the market, offering benefits for the pharmaceutical industry, society and patients.
Boosting innovation in the SUDOE area
The main objective of the RePo-SUDOE project is to position the SUDOE area (which includes southwest Europe, encompassing the regions of Spain, France and Portugal) as a benchmark of excellence in the area of drug repurposing. This ambitious project seeks to develop and disseminate advanced technologies in this area of research and development (R&D), increasing the region’s competitiveness in the biopharmaceutical industry and attracting highly qualified human resources.
To achieve this objective, RePo-SUDOE is structured around three specific objectives:
- Promoting scientific knowledge and technological dissemination: The aim is to raise the R&D groups and centres of the SUDOE area to the level of European excellence, encouraging collaboration between public and private actors in the area of drug repurposing.
- Fostering multidisciplinary collaboration: A transnational network will be implemented to identify innovative opportunities in the SUDOE territory. One of the main case studies will be the development of drug repurposing methodologies for cancer treatment. In addition, a database with detailed information on therapeutic targets and biologically active drugs will be created.
- Develop a prototype of a three-dimensional (3D) visualisation room: This space, equipped with virtual reality and augmented reality technologies, will allow the interactive and pedagogical visualisation of therapeutic targets and their interaction with drugs. It will be aimed at students and researchers in STEAM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics).
The RePo-SUDOE project brings together, for the first time, partners from different regions of the SUDOE area and from different areas of the drug development value chain in a common effort. This consortium includes scientific and technological institutions, universities and companies with a strong focus on innovation, such as the Instituto Politécnico da Guarda (IPG) in Portugal, the universities of A Coruña (UDC) and Santiago de Compostela (USC) in Spain, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique – Délégation Aquitaine in France, MD.USE Innovations S.L. (Spain), Sociedade Portuguesa de Saúde Pública (Portugal) and the Cluster Saúde de Galicia, CSG (Spain).
Each of the partners has a key role in the implementation of the project, ensuring a comprehensive and coordinated approach. For example, the IPG will lead the creation of a prototype 3D visualisation room and participate in the molecular characterisation of the interaction between drugs and therapeutic targets. The UDC will be responsible for the implementation of the transnational network and the drug repurposing database, while the USC will contribute to the molecular and bioinformatics analysis of the data generated.
A project with social and scientific impact
RePo-SUDOE aims not only to advance scientific and technological knowledge, but also to ensure that the results of its research are accessible and useful to society. The project will make scientific information available to the public in a user-friendly and open-access manner, as well as promote citizen participation through workshops and summer schools that will influence the development of public policies on drug repositioning.
In summary, the RePo-SUDOE project has the potential to transform the SUDOE area into a European benchmark in drug repurposing, promoting innovation, multidisciplinary collaboration and the development of advanced technologies for the benefit of the biopharmaceutical industry and society at large.