From Serendipity to Strategy: Repurposed Drugs and Their Mechanistic Role in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, represents an increasing global health challenge. The traditional process of drug development is both slow and expensive, leading to a growing interest in drug repurposing as a viable alternative strategy. This review emphasizes the therapeutic promise of five repurposed medications quinacrine, febuxostat, dapsone, amitriptyline, and bazedoxifene each of which targets critical inflammatory and oxidative pathways implicated in the pathogenesis of IBD. These drugs, initially approved for different medical conditions, exhibit encouraging anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and barrier-protective properties in preclinical models of IBD. By modulating signalling pathways such as NF-κB, TLR4, and STAT3, as well as affecting gut microbiota, these agents present novel opportunities for the management of IBD, characterized by enhanced safety profiles and translational significance.