Only 10% of compounds studied in the early stages of drug development make it into clinical trials, and of those, just 20% achieve regulatory approval. Nevertheless, the compounds that fall along the way can still prove useful in research and in some cases can be ‘repurposed’, i.e. used for the treatment of different diseases to the one for which they were originally developed.
PD-MIND aims to repurpose the compound AZD0328 as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI). Recent trials suggest that compounds like AZD0328 may enhance cognition in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. PD-MIND plans to conduct a randomized, placebo-controlled study across multiple international centers to validate this finding.
Repurposing drugs offers several advantages. Notably, since substantial groundwork has already been undertaken on these compounds, repurposing can yield results much faster and for less money.