The Centre for Drug Repurposing & Medicines Research is committed to improve quality, safety, efficacy and timelines for bringing the most effective drug therapies to patients.

The Australian Drug Repurposing Program will initiate one of the most ambitious approaches ever undertaken to drive new drug treatments for cancer rapidly through the laboratory and regulatory requirements into the clinical setting. Overall this Program will design an integrated system, underpinned by quality leadership and governance, that builds on existing national strength in drug development to establish a more streamlined and accessible drug development pathway. Central to this will be addressing the current, often complex, barriers to drug repurposing across the stages of development including preclinical to clinical, clinical to clinical trial, regulation, reimbursement, manufacturing, and combinations with devices. This will ensure rapid delivery of new drug options for Australian patients and sector end-users. This is even more relevant with the current COVID pandemic where repurposed drugs will fill treatment gaps until vaccines or other therapies are available.

Our Centre’s expertise is structured around the following four themes:

  • Developing People – experts in pharmacological science, drug development and clinical use.
  • Developing and Repurposing Drugs – finding new molecules and new uses for old drugs.
  • Developing Innovative Technologies – medical technologies, drug technologies, devices and methods for drug measurement and activity.
  • Developing Strong Collaborative Links – between Government, Research Institutions and Industry around drug development processes to streamline safe and effective medicines to patients.

CDRMR Cycle

CHDR Cycle