Auranofin: Repurposing an Old Drug for a Golden New Age

Drug discovery, development and registration is an expensive and time-consuming process associated with a high failure rate [Pessetto et al. (Mol Cancer Ther 12:1299–1309, 2013), Woodcock and Woosley (Annu Rev Med 59:1–12, 2008)]. Drug ‘repurposing’ is the identification of new therapeutic purposes for already approved drugs and is more affordable and achievable than novel drug discovery [Pessetto et al. (Mol Cancer Ther 12:1299–1309, 2013)]. Auranofin is a drug that is approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis but is being investigated for potential therapeutic application in a number of other diseases including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, HIV/AIDS, parasitic infections and bacterial infections [Tejman-Yarden et al. (Antimicrob Agents Chemother 57:2029–2035, 2013)]. The main mechanism of action of auranofin is through the inhibition of reduction/oxidation (redox) enzymes that are essential for maintaining intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species. Inhibition of these enzymes leads to cellular oxidative stress and intrinsic apoptosis [Pessetto et al. (Mol Cancer Ther 12:1299–1309, 2013), Fan et al. (Cell Death Dis 5:e1191, 2014), Fiskus et al. (Cancer Res 74:2520–2532, 2014), Marzano et al. (Free Radic Biol Med 42:872–881, 2007)]. Drugs such as auranofin that have already been approved for human use [Tejman-Yarden et al. (Antimicrob Agents Chemother 57:2029–2035, 2013)] can be brought into clinical use for other diseases relatively quickly and for a fraction of the cost of new drugs.