On August 20, 2025, INFARMED, I.P., Portugal’s National Authority of Medicines and Health Products, hosted a meeting at its headquarters with representatives of the international project Drug Repurposing for Effective and Accelerated Drug Development in the SUDOE Space (RePo-SUDOE). This initiative, funded under the Interreg Sudoe programme, brings together institutions from Portugal, Spain, and France with the aim of exploring new therapeutic applications for already approved drugs.
Drug repurposing is a key strategy in pharmaceutical innovation, as it allows compounds with proven safety and efficacy to be studied for the treatment of other diseases. This approach avoids starting lengthy, complex, and costly development processes from scratch, accelerating the arrival of new therapeutic alternatives for patients.
The meeting was attended by Rui Santos Ivo, President of INFARMED, Carlos Alves, Vice-President, and Marta Marcelino, Director of the Medicines Evaluation Department. RePo-SUDOE was represented by João José Joaquim, Secretary-General of the Portuguese Society of Public Health (SPSP), and Hugo Filipe, from the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda, the institution coordinating the consortium.
The meeting allowed for an exchange of views on the role of regulatory agencies in drug repurposing, an issue increasingly present on the European Union’s agenda. Notable examples include the joint report by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA), as well as the European Medicines Agencies Network Strategy 2028 (EMANS 2028), which highlight the importance of this approach to optimise pharmaceutical development.
Possible avenues for future interaction with the national regulator were also discussed, including scientific and regulatory advice for research projects, the identification of institutional collaboration opportunities in training and health literacy, and the dissemination of scientific initiatives aimed at society and patient groups.
The RePo-SUDOE consortium is led by the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda and also includes the University of A Coruña, the University of Santiago de Compostela, the company MD.USE Innovations, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the Portuguese Society of Public Health, and the Asociación Cluster Saúde de Galicia.
During the meeting, INFARMED reaffirmed its commitment to supporting initiatives that contribute to the continued availability of new therapeutic options, reinforcing its mission to protect and promote public health for the benefit of citizens.