Better drug screening

– new uses for old drugs

Claire Bale

Research Communications Manager

Old drugs, new tricks

Finding new uses for old drugs has great promise for quickly bringing new treatments to people with Parkinson’s.

As these drugs are already widely used for other conditions, we know they’re safe. And this gives them a head-start in the clinical trials marathon.

This isn’t a new idea…

And we already have some exciting leads for Parkinson’s…

The diabetes drug exenatide (based on a compound found in the saliva of the venomous lizard) is already being trialled in people with Parkinson’s – with very promising results.

Diabetes drugs?

Nicotine?

People who smoke are at lower risk of developing Parkinson’s.

We’ve funded research into the potential of nicotine in Oxford, with promising results.

And now trials of nicotine patches are underway in Germany and the US….

Sleep drugs

We’re funding a small pilot trial to see whether low doses of zolpidem – a drug commonly used to treat insomnia – could be beneficial to people with Parkinson’s.

Looking for a needle in a haystack?

So far, most of these existing drugs with potential for Parkinson’s have been discovered by luck rather than judgement….

We need a more systematic (and scientific) approach to finding the remaining needles in the haystack.

Heather’s project

“For me, the most exciting avenue for Parkinson’s research is the new techniques available to carry out fast and accurate screening to find new drugs for the condition.

“This used to be led by the pharmaceutical industry, but advances in this area mean this is now something that university researchers like me can do.”

Better drug screening – finding new uses for old drugs

Who? Dr Heather Mortiboys

Where? University of Sheffield

What? £249,565 over 3 years

Heather is screening drugs that are already used to treat other illnesses to identify ones that may have potential for Parkinson’s.

To identify drugs that will benefit as many people with Parkinson’s as possible, Heather will test the drugs in skin cells from people with inherited and non-inherited forms of Parkinson’s.

The ultimate goal of Heather’s research is to find more drugs that will be beneficial for people with Parkinson’s.

And crucially, these drugs could move rapidly into clinical testing, and ultimately produce new treatments sooner rather than later.

Thank you!

Any questions?

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