Abstract:
Drug repurposing is an innovation stream of new pharmaceutical drug development that offers many advantages to combat the myriad of challenges to innovation pharmaceutical companies are facing, such as rising development costs and stagnant productivity. Drug repurposing is whereby existing drugs are developed for new indications. Several drugs have already been successfully repurposed and commercialised with the most prominent examples being thalidomide and sildenafil. Fuelled by the successful repurposing of sildenafil and thalidomide, there is now a growing interest in drug repositioning within the pharmaceutical industry. This study sought to explore the decision making process of key decision-makers for the commercialisation of repurposed drugs within a New Zealand context. An exploratory, qualitative methodology underpinned with the research paradigm critical realism was used to guide this research. A critical realist perspective was used as it is particularly useful for investigating the causes of a social phenomenon such as decision making process for commercialisation strategy. Secondary data from journal articles were used to form the research questions and gain an understanding into the background of drug repurposing. Primary data was gathered by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews of fourteen key individuals that are leading experts within their respective fields. The empirical findings of this study highlighted common consideration factors that these key individuals take into account when deciding on the commercialisation strategy for the repurposed assets. These consideration factors can be further categorised into enabling and constraining factors. Findings of this study indicate that key decision makers involved in this decision need to think long-term and adopt a flexible strategy to maximise the chance of success of their repurposing projects. To date, academic research on commercialisation strategies for repurposed assets are very scarce. The findings of this thesis has contributed to the emerging body of literature on drug repurposing by offering possible commercialisation strategies for repurposed assets. Further, the findings of this research offers practical industry insights into the successful execution of commercialisation strategies for repurposed drugs.