Vanderbilt Finds Drugs to Boost Preterm Labor Outcomes

Shajila Siricilla, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, and Jennifer Herington, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, led a team that systematically screened 1,191 FDA-approved drugs and found that several candidates met criteria supporting further evaluation as potential treatments for preterm labor.

"Rather than starting with entirely new drugs, we asked whether medicines that are already FDA-approved for other conditions might have previously unrecognized effects on the uterus," said Siricilla, the study's lead author.

The investigators said preterm labor occurs when the uterus begins contracting too early in pregnancy, noting that currently, there are no FDA-approved medications in the United States specifically for stopping these contractions. FDA-approved drugs that are used off label - or prescribed for a use other than what it has been approved for - can delay delivery, but their use is often limited by side effects to the mother or fetus.