PhD Scientific Days 2026
Budapest, 16-18 June 2026
Poster Session 1.F - Pharmaceutical Sciences and Health Technologies
Pharmaceutical Strategies for Disulfiram Use Beyond Original Indications
Előadó neve
Benkő, Beáta Mária
Neptune code
PRCN09
Előadó munkahelye
University Pharmacy Department of Pharmacy Administration, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
Előadó telefonszáma
06309527963
Előadó e-mail címe
benko.beata@phd.semmelweis.hu
Az előadás címe
Pharmaceutical Strategies for Disulfiram Use Beyond Original Indications
Szerző(k) neve és munkahelye
Benkő Beáta Mária1, Dorottya Moldvai2, Anna Sebestyén2, Katalin Dezső2, Gergő Tóth3, Szabina Kádár4, Edina Szabó4, Péter Tonka-Nagy5, Lajos Szente6, Romána Zelkó1, István Sebe*1
1: University Pharmacy Department of Pharmacy Administration, Semmelweis University, Hőgyes Endre Str. 7-9., Budapest 1092, Hungary
2: Department of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research, Semmelweis University, Üllői, út 26., H-1085 Budapest, Hungary
3: Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Semmelweis University, Hőgyes Endre Str. 7-9., Budapest 1092, Hungary
4: Department of Organic Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3, 1111 Budapest, Hungary.
5: Egis Pharmaceuticals Plc., R&D Directorate, 1475 Budapest, Hungary
6: CycloLab Cyclodextrin Research & Development Laboratory Ltd., Illatos út 7, 1097 Budapest, Hungary
Bemutatás módja
Poszter
Szekció
Poster Session 1.F - Pharmaceutical Sciences and Health Technologies
Language of the presentation
Hungarian
Preferred session
Pharmaceutical Sciences and Health Technologies
Összefoglaló szövege
Introduction: Drug repositioning, defined in 2004, is a strategy aimed at identifying, investigating, and developing new therapeutic applications for the active ingredients of marketed drugs beyond their original indications. Disulfiram (DS), used for >70 years in alcohol dependence after initial antiparasitic roles, shows a similar tendency. In alcohol dependence treatment, the liver is the primary site of action; for other indications, orally administered DS reaches the target tissue only to a limited extent, which has prevented the promising in vitro results from translating into a clinical breakthrough.
Aim: Leveraging pharmaceutical technology, the aim is to promote the clinical translation of DS for the treatment of glioblastoma and melanoma through the development of drug releasing systems that overcome poor biological availability and maximize delivery efficiency. Due to similarity of translational challenges, the technological design is extended also to the treatment of Lyme disease.
Methods: Laboratory-scale development involves forming and characterizing DS and cyclodextrin (CD) inclusion complexes, incorporating them into nasal, transdermal, and rectal formulations, optimizing final recipes and strategies, and evaluating proof-of-concept through in vitro and in vivo biological assays.
Results: Inclusion complexation DS with CDs enhances its solubility and, consequently, its bioavailability. The IC50 values varied significantly among cancer cell lines. The remarkable sensitivity of the studied melanoma cell lines justified the further in vivo and pharmaceutical technological approaches. The ability to induce cytotoxicity on glioblastoma cell line potentates its adjuvant role in combination therapies. The traditional rectal dosage form of DS presents the advantage of production in laboratory pharmacies, fasting the availability of the repositioned drug for Lyme disease patients with prolonged symptoms.
Conclusions: Repositioning DS involves both clinical and technological considerations. Non-oral formulations with molecularly encapsulated DS improve the drug delivery for drug reposition scopes. The development extends to investigating transdermal, rectal and nasal delivery systems capable of overcoming poor bioavailability and maximizing targeted tissue delivery beyond DS`s original indication.
Funding: Supported by "Predoctoral Scholarship".
University
Semmelweis University
Supervisor
Dr. István Sebe
Publication of my abstract
I do not give consent to the publication of my abstract on the website of the congress.
phd.section.field
after finishing doctoral studies with absolutorium (PhD)
Kind
Szabad
Status
elfogadva
Accepted presentation method
poszter
Előadás fájl jóváhagyás
nem rendelkezett róla
Előadó
7451
Start
16:42
End
16:45