A Survey of Recent Techniques in Computational Drug Repurposing

Abstract

The number of rare and unidentified diseases is increasing daily, and there are also diseases without proper drugs, like COVID-19. Drug repurposing is the investigation of existing drugs for new therapeutic potentials. It is better to use existing medications because drug discovery is risky, time-consuming, and costly. Approved compounds have known bioavailability and safety profiles, proven formulation and manufacturing routes, and reasonably characterized pharmacology. So repurposed drugs can enter clinical phases more rapidly and at a lower cost than novel compounds. Researchers and scientists from different fields have tried to identify alternative drug indications. So, drug repurposing has grown into a promising strategy today. In this study, we go through recent advancements in computational drug repurposing. We discussed here different drug repurposing approaches, processes, and resources used and reviewed recent drug repurposing studies for COVID-19. Finally, we summarize the methodologies and specify challenges and limitations in the field of computational drug repositioning.