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Drug repositioning is hot, and much development time and money can be spared if one selects an old
drug and explores the efficacy and safety in a new indication. Phenytoin is studied and repositioned in
many disorders after the initial indication epilepsy (from 1937). Its repositioning in depression was put
in the spotlight by the Wall Street icon Jack Dreyfus, already in the 1970s. Innovations in the field of
phenytoin still appear to be possible for a number of indications such as wound healing, bipolar disorder
and aggression, and via a topical formulation for neuropathic pain. We will discuss wound healing and
identified a number of critical issues related to its repositioning in this indication.
Introduction 2010, the number of papers containing these two keywords has
Drug repositioning is not a recent chapter in drug development, risen each year, from 50 in 2010, to 100, 125, 242, 323, and 448 in
but it has been recognized only recently as an important chance in each subsequent year, up to 503 in 2016. To date however, no
drug research and development to shorten the development time, studies have been carried out in analysing drug repurposing in a
as well as sparing much research and development effort and systematic way based on previous literature and clinical studies
money. Secondly, it has been identified as a new way of finding published in the past, that focus on one ‘new’ indication for an old
treatments for complex disorders such as orphan diseases; and drug.
thirdly, it is seen as a method leading to therapeutic innova- Not many readers know that certain scaffolds related to old
tiveness. Lastly, it is seen by some as fulfilling the need for molecules paved the way towards drug repurposing. The dihydro-
regulation of pharmacy compounding and off-label use. Interest- pyrimidines for instance, synthesized first by Bignelli in 1891, were
ingly, the Chairman of the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board, rediscovered during the 1970s–1990s as new leads for a number of
Bert Leufkens, pointed out in 2016: ‘Every new drug is a potential indications, from hypertension to anxiety and optic nerve
old drug. Together we should aim to use drugs to their full dysfunction [2,3]. The roots of drug repurposing therefore can
potential,’ and he subsequently advised to ‘look for a new drug be identified in organic chemistry, and such old molecules and
development paradigm with incentives and a satisfactory business scaffolds should not be forgotten as untapped sources for new
case for drug repositioning in which quality, efficacy and safety are drugs.
supported by adequate and robust data and/or justification [1].’ Key elements of the theory of drug repositioning can be identi-
Importantly, he also stipulated that lack of data as such is not fied in literature between the 1980s and the beginning of our
always the issue, but justification by the applicant why this does millennium. In the early 80s, a new mechanism of action for
Q2 not hamper the B/R (the benefit/risk ratio) is critical. tetracyclines was discovered, based on non-antimicrobial proper-
ties of the molecules; the unexpected ability of this group of drugs
Drug repurposing wins in popularity to inhibit the breakdown of connective tissue and bone [4]. The
The topic ‘drug repurposing’ is a popular one. PubMed contains authors of a review in this field explicitly used the word
more than 2000 articles where these two terms are used, and since ‘unexpected’, and highlighted ‘the new therapeutic implications
for an old family of drugs’. In 1999, new uses for old drugs
were discussed for HIV, and old drugs such as hydroxyurea and
Corresponding author: Keppel Hesselink, J.M. (jan@neuropathie.nu)
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Please cite this article in press as: Keppel, J.M. Phenytoin repositioned in wound healing: clinical experience spanning 60 years, Drug Discov Today (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
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DRUDIS 2095 1–7
governments for non-orphan indications. Otherwise it is clear that autacoid influences in our body striving to a new homeostasis. We
only a specific target profile supports a drug candidate for repur- will not succeed in finding the most optimal treatments for many
posing, and we quote Oprea and Mestres for defining such a diseases if we solely use the molecular biological and chemical
profile: a drug fit for repurposing needs to be ‘an off-patent safe techniques developed for drug repositioning and repurposing.
drug for which a novel target has been identified, with affinity We also need to closely read and evaluate the papers and data
within the maximum recommended therapeutic dose for an generated in the past in order to recognize relevant patterns for
already-approved indication, and linked with strong supporting predicting success for an old drug in a new indication. Important-
evidence to a therapeutically unmet need or rare disease [19]’. The ly, hand in hand with such exploration, we need to evaluate drug
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Please cite this article in press as: Keppel, J.M. Phenytoin repositioned in wound healing: clinical experience spanning 60 years, Drug Discov Today (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
drudis.2017.09.020
DRUDIS 2095 1–7
and the oral dose selected was generally based on the recom- HN C=O HN C=O
mended clinical dose range in epilepsy (300–600 mg/day). Data
regarding plasma levels in many of these studies is lacking, apart O=C O=C
from studies conducted in cases of aggression.
C3H 5N C φ C 3 H 7N C φ
H H
Wound healing: early recognized as a repurpose
indication for phenytoin 1 allyl, 5 phenyl 1 propyl, 5 phenyl
hydantoinate hydantoinate
Wound healing is, apparently, an interesting indication for the
Reviews POST SCREEN
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Please cite this article in press as: Keppel, J.M. Phenytoin repositioned in wound healing: clinical experience spanning 60 years, Drug Discov Today (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
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analysis followed on the selection of formulation, issues like a range of concentrations promotes wound healing, without sys-
wound pH and the selected concentrations of phenytoin. temic side effects. The absorption of phenytoin via the wound is
All of these efforts did not lead to a clear picture of the best and indiscernible and does not lead to clinical relevant plasma levels.
most effective formulation of phenytoin for wound healing. Too Recently, Professor Ioannidis’s group published ‘A manifesto for
many parameters remained unstudied. The work on oral wounds reproducible science’ [54]. The authors list a number of threats to
however led to the commercialization of a topical phenytoin reproducible science, and some seem to apply to the papers dis-
formulation, a toothpaste, (brandname Pyorédol) was available cussed above; for instance, low statistical power, analytical flexi-
from Laboratoires Roussel, France, in the 1970s for the treatment bility and data dredging. On the other hand, a coherent theory can
TABLE 2
Formulations and concentrations of phenytoin tested in studies
Study Formulation Concentration of phenytoin N
Carneiro et al. [26] Phenytoin powder 100% 64
Carneiro et al. [27] Phenytoin powder 100% 102
Bansal et al. [47] Phenytoin powder 100% 100
Hokkam et al. [31] Phenytoin lotion: liposomal base 4% 104
El-Nahas et al. [55] Phenytoin aerosol powder 2% 32
Bhatia et al. [34] Phenytoin sodium suspension 2%, 4% 45
Pereira et al. [48] Phenytoin cream 0.5% 100
Pendse et al. [56] Phenytoin ‘topical’ Not specified 75
Hollisaz et al. [57] Phenytoin cream Not specified 91
Shaw et al. [49] Hydrogel dressing (delivering 6 mg/cm2 phenytoin Not specified 65
Panahi et al. [58] Phenytoin cream Not specified 60
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Please cite this article in press as: Keppel, J.M. Phenytoin repositioned in wound healing: clinical experience spanning 60 years, Drug Discov Today (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
drudis.2017.09.020
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6 www.drugdiscoverytoday.com
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