Repurposed Drug Combination Therapy for Preterm Birth Prevention

Researchers at Stanford, in collaboration with UCSF, have developed a two-part approach to preventing preterm birth (PTB), the leading cause of infant mortality worldwide. Current treatments, like low-dose aspirin and progesterone, are limited and often ineffective. No approved therapy targets the immune system disruptions that are now understood to drive PTB.

Stanford's Gaudilliere lab has developed two complementary platforms to address this. The first is a drug screening assay that tests how different drugs affect a patient's own immune cells from a single blood sample. This allows doctors to match patients with the treatment most likely to work for them. The second is a combination of two already FDA-approved drugs, aspirin and lansoprazole, shown in early studies to restore immune balance relevant to PTB. Together, these tools offer a personalized approach to PTB prevention for at-risk patients.

Stage of Development:
Proof of concept - In vitro | Planned Clinical Trial