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Screening approved medicines reveals potential treatments for preterm labor (opens in a new tab)

news-medical.net · 2026-09-23

Short answerEvidenceSource

Short answer

Mostly supported

Mostly supported.

The claims we could check match the study, but some claims were not covered by the evidence reviewed.

  • 3 supported
  • 1 not covered

Checked against the study summary. The full text wasn't available, so some details couldn't be settled either way.

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1
2

NewsLink checks it

Mostly supported

Every claim we could check holds up. Three of four claims match the study. This overall rating is based only on the claims we could check. One claim the study doesn't address.

  • 3 supported
  • 1 not covered
Open claim evidence
3
Then inspect each claim

Evidence layer

Claim by claim

Each claim gets a verdict. Expand it to see the evidence directly below.

4 claims in this story

Showing all 4 claimsChoose a verdict to focus the list.

Claim 1 of 4Not coveredThe investigators said there are currently no FDA-approved medications in the United States specifically for stopping preterm labor contractions, although off-label drugs can delay delivery but are limited by side effects.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The profile supports the statement that there are currently no FDA-approved tocolytics for preterm labor. However, at abstract depth it does not provide enough detail to verify the full added claim that off-label drugs can delay delivery but are limited by side effects, beyond references to clinically used tocolytics and concern about off-target vascular effects.

1

Study evidence

A phenotypic high-throughput screen of 1,191 FDA-approved drugs in primary human myometrial cells using Ca2+ mobilization as the readout identified 51 drugs that inhibited Ca2+ mobilization.51 hits (out of 1,191 screened)

“a phenotypic high-throughput screen against a library of 1191 FDA-approved drugs was performed for inhibitors of in vitro uterine myometrial contractions”
2

Study evidence

A counterscreen in primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells identified 10 uterus-selective drugs from myometrial-active hits.

“hit drugs were counterscreened against primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells, identifying 10 uterine-selective drugs.”
Claim 2 of 4SupportedA team led by Shajila Siricilla and Jennifer Herington systematically screened 1,191 FDA-approved drugs and found several candidates that met criteria for further evaluation as potential treatments for preterm labor.View evidenceHide evidence

As stated1,191 FDA-approved drugs; several candidates

Why this verdict

The scientific core is supported at abstract depth: the profile reports a phenotypic high-throughput screen of 1,191 FDA-approved drugs, 51 initial myometrial Ca2+ mobilization hits, 10 uterus-selective drugs after vascular smooth muscle counterscreening, and downstream candidate/combination validation. The supplied profile does not independently verify the named team leadership, but the screening-and-candidate claim is consistent with the paper evidence.

1

Study evidence

A phenotypic high-throughput screen of 1,191 FDA-approved drugs in primary human myometrial cells using Ca2+ mobilization as the readout identified 51 drugs that inhibited Ca2+ mobilization.51 hits (out of 1,191 screened)

“a phenotypic high-throughput screen against a library of 1191 FDA-approved drugs was performed for inhibitors of in vitro uterine myometrial contractions”
2

Study evidence

A counterscreen in primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells identified 10 uterus-selective drugs from myometrial-active hits.

“hit drugs were counterscreened against primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells, identifying 10 uterine-selective drugs.”
Claim 3 of 4SupportedThe authors stressed that the findings do not mean the drugs are ready for clinical use; instead, they identify promising candidates for further development and a systematic strategy for finding potentially safer and more effective treatments.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The story’s caveat is aligned with the abstract-level evidence: the work consists of in vitro screens, ex vivo tissue/organ assays, and an in vivo mouse model, not clinical testing in pregnant patients. Framing the findings as candidates for further development and as a systematic discovery strategy is supported by the screening, counterscreening, combination-screening, and preclinical validation units.

1

Study evidence

A phenotypic high-throughput screen of 1,191 FDA-approved drugs in primary human myometrial cells using Ca2+ mobilization as the readout identified 51 drugs that inhibited Ca2+ mobilization.51 hits (out of 1,191 screened)

“a phenotypic high-throughput screen against a library of 1191 FDA-approved drugs was performed for inhibitors of in vitro uterine myometrial contractions”
2

Study evidence

A counterscreen in primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells identified 10 uterus-selective drugs from myometrial-active hits.

“hit drugs were counterscreened against primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells, identifying 10 uterine-selective drugs.”
Claim 4 of 4SupportedCiclesonide was singled out as particularly interesting because it showed uterine-selective activity and ability to inhibit human myometrial contractions, raising the possibility it could be relevant both before and after preterm birth.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

Ciclesonide is one of the highlighted lead drugs: the abstract-level profile reports uterus-selective activity/favorable in vitro therapeutic index, inhibition of ex vivo human myometrial contractions, and in vivo mouse-model effects on delivery timing and neonatal outcomes. The story’s 'raising the possibility' wording is appropriately hedged; however, the profile highlights ciclesonide alongside other candidates rather than as the sole lead.

1

Study evidence

A counterscreen in primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells identified 10 uterus-selective drugs from myometrial-active hits.

“hit drugs were counterscreened against primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells, identifying 10 uterine-selective drugs.”
2

Study evidence

Fosaprepitant dimeglumine and ciclesonide were reported to display favorable in vitro therapeutic indices (TIs > 5), indicating selectivity for inhibiting myometrial Ca2+ mobilization over effects on aortic vascular smooth muscle cells.TI > 5

“two drugs, the antiemetic fosaprepitant dimeglumine and the glucocorticoid ciclesonide, displayed favorable in vitro therapeutic indices (TIs > 5)”
Then look for missing context

Context layer

What the story left out

Important study details the story did not include.

  • Two single-agent leads, fosaprepitant dimeglumine and ciclesonide, had favorable in vitro therapeutic indices greater than 5 and inhibited ex vivo human myometrial contractions.

    The story reflects ciclesonide’s uterine-selective activity and human myometrial contraction inhibition, but it omits the parallel lead fosaprepitant dimeglumine and the reported TI > 5 criterion.

    From In vitro therapeutic index estimation (dose–response, primary human cell counterscreen); ex vivo human myometrial tissue

  • The abstract reports an ex vivo fetal murine ductus arteriosus tone assay in which fosaprepitant dimeglumine and ciclesonide did not alter ductus arteriosus tone.

    This fetal cardiovascular safety counterscreen is not mentioned in the story’s claims or caveats.

    From Ex vivo fetal murine ductus arteriosus tone assay (pharmacologic safety/off-target testing)

  • A high-throughput drug-combination screen identified four synergistic drug combinations with favorable therapeutic indices greater than 5.

    The story refers generally to a systematic strategy and candidates for further development, but it does not report the paper’s central combination-screen finding or the four synergistic combinations.

    From High-throughput in vitro drug-combination screen (Ca2+ mobilization)

  • Selected synergistic combinations improved ex vivo tocolytic potency, efficacy, or both in human myometrial tissue.

    The story discusses ciclesonide and broad candidate discovery, but it does not describe the ex vivo performance of synergistic combinations.

    From High-throughput in vitro drug-combination screen (Ca2+ mobilization); Ex vivo human myometrial tissue contractility assa

  • In a mouse model of induced preterm labor, aprepitant, ciclesonide, and four synergistic combinations delayed delivery until term and improved neonatal viability plus skin and lung maturation; several combinations outperformed component drugs.

    The story only indirectly alludes to relevance before and after preterm birth for ciclesonide. It does not report the mouse-model design, delay-to-term result, neonatal viability and maturation outcomes, aprepitant, or the four combinations.

    From in vivo animal

3 things the story did carry across
  • The paper reports a phenotypic high-throughput screen of 1,191 FDA-approved drugs in primary human myometrial cells, yielding 51 drugs that inhibited Ca2+ mobilization.
  • Hit drugs were counterscreened against primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells, yielding 10 uterus-selective drugs.
  • The evidence is preclinical and includes in vitro cell assays, ex vivo human and animal tissue assays, and an in vivo mouse model rather than clinical efficacy or safety data in pregnant patients.
Then read the study layer

Study layer

Study at a glance

Scan the study first. Expand only the parts you want to inspect.

Pieces of work

8

Evidence read

study summary

Lead result

in vitro

1Lead resultin vitroIdentify synergistic drug combinations with favorable therapeutic indices and improved tocolytic performance in vitro and ex vivo.High-throughput in vitro drug-combination screen (Ca2+ mobilization)Expand

In plain English

A high-throughput in vitro drug-combination screen using Ca2+ mobilization in primary human myometrial cells identified four synergistic drug combinations that exhibited favorable therapeutic indices (TI > 5) and improved tocolytic performance (potency, efficacy, or both) when evaluated ex vivo in human myometrial tissue. The synergistic combinations incorporated drugs including ciclesonide, indomethacin, ivermectin, atosiban, or nelfinavir mesylate.

Key findings

  • A high-throughput combination screen in primary human myometrial cells identified four synergistic drug combinations that displayed favorable therapeutic indices (TI > 5).
  • Selected synergistic combinations (incorporating ciclesonide, indomethacin, ivermectin, atosiban, or nelfinavir mesylate) improved ex vivo tocolytic potency, efficacy, or both in human myometrial tissue compared with component drugs.
“the potential synergy among hit drugs and clinically used tocolytics was evaluated using a high-throughput combination screen based on Ca2+ mobilization in primary human myometrial cells.”
What this piece can’t prove
  • Ex vivo improvements are described qualitatively; translational relevance to clinical efficacy requires further preclinical/clinical validation beyond the abstract.

3 further details could not be confirmed from the summary.

2in vitroIdentify FDA-approved drugs that inhibit uterine myometrial contraction pathways and are uterus-selective (minimizing vascular smooth muscle off-target effects).Phenotypic high-throughput screen in primary human myometrial cells (Ca2+ mobilization assay)Expand

In plain English

A phenotypic high-throughput screen of 1,191 FDA-approved drugs using primary human myometrial cells and a Ca2+ mobilization assay identified 51 drugs that inhibited Ca2+ mobilization, providing an initial set of candidate uterus-targeted tocolytics for follow-up.

Key findings

  • A phenotypic high-throughput screen of 1,191 FDA-approved drugs in primary human myometrial cells using Ca2+ mobilization as the readout identified 51 drugs that inhibited Ca2+ mobilization.51 hits (out of 1,191 screened)
“a phenotypic high-throughput screen against a library of 1191 FDA-approved drugs was performed for inhibitors of in vitro uterine myometrial contractions”
What this piece can’t prove
  • The counterscreen against vascular smooth muscle (to define uterus-selectivity) is described elsewhere in the paper and is outside the narrow scope of this appraisal unit.

3 further details could not be confirmed from the summary.

3in vitroIdentify FDA-approved drugs that inhibit uterine myometrial contraction pathways and are uterus-selective (minimizing vascular smooth muscle off-target effects).Counterscreen vs primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (in vitro Ca2+ mobilization assay)Expand

In plain English

As part of a repurposing screen for tocolytics, hit drugs that inhibited Ca2+ mobilization in primary human myometrial cells were counterscreened in primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to reduce vascular off-target effects; this counterscreen yielded 10 uterus-selective drugs, two of which (fosaprepitant dimeglumine and ciclesonide) had favorable in vitro therapeutic indices and ex vivo myometrial activity.

Key findings

  • A counterscreen in primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells identified 10 uterus-selective drugs from myometrial-active hits.
  • Among the uterus-selective hits, fosaprepitant dimeglumine and ciclesonide had favorable in vitro therapeutic indices and showed inhibitory activity in ex vivo human myometrial tissue.
“hit drugs were counterscreened against primary human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells, identifying 10 uterine-selective drugs.”
What this piece can’t prove
  • Counterscreen used a single non-target cell type (aortic VSMCs); other vascular or nonvascular off-target tissues were not assessed in the reported counterscreen.
  • The abstract does not list the identities of all 10 uterus-selective drugs or the full criteria used to classify selectivity, limiting assessment of generalizability and reproducibility from the provided text.

1 further detail could not be confirmed from the summary.

4in vitroIdentify FDA-approved drugs that inhibit uterine myometrial contraction pathways and are uterus-selective (minimizing vascular smooth muscle off-target effects).In vitro therapeutic index estimation (dose–response, primary human cell counterscreen)Expand

In plain English

From a phenotypic screen and counterscreen using primary human cells, two repurposed drugs — fosaprepitant dimeglumine and ciclesonide — were reported in the abstract to have favorable in vitro therapeutic indices (TIs > 5) indicating uterine selectivity versus vascular smooth muscle.

Key findings

  • Fosaprepitant dimeglumine and ciclesonide were reported to display favorable in vitro therapeutic indices (TIs > 5), indicating selectivity for inhibiting myometrial Ca2+ mobilization over effects on aortic vascular smooth muscle cells.TI > 5
“two drugs, the antiemetic fosaprepitant dimeglumine and the glucocorticoid ciclesonide, displayed favorable in vitro therapeutic indices (TIs > 5)”
What this piece can’t prove
  • Summary is based solely on abstract text; full-text methods and results are needed to verify experimental details, TI computation, and robustness.

1 further detail could not be confirmed from the summary.

5ex vivo humanValidate top uterus-selective candidates and combinations in ex vivo tissue/organ assays (human myometrium contraction; fetal ductus arteriosus tone).ex vivo human myometrial tissue contractility assayExpand

In plain English

In ex vivo human myometrial tissue contractility assays reported in the paper abstract, two lead repurposed drugs—fosaprepitant dimeglumine and ciclesonide—inhibited uterine contractions. These drugs had favorable in vitro therapeutic indices (TI > 5) and, per the abstract, did not alter tone in the fetal murine ductus arteriosus ex vivo.

Key findings

  • Fosaprepitant dimeglumine and ciclesonide inhibited contractions in ex vivo human myometrial tissue.
  • These lead drugs did not alter tone in the fetal murine ductus arteriosus ex vivo (reported as a safety assessment).
“inhibited contractions in human myometrial tissue ex vivo”
What this piece can’t prove
  • Ex vivo tissue results may not predict in vivo efficacy or safety; translational relevance requires further in vivo and clinical evaluation.

2 further details could not be confirmed from the summary.

6ex vivo animalValidate top uterus-selective candidates and combinations in ex vivo tissue/organ assays (human myometrium contraction; fetal ductus arteriosus tone).Ex vivo fetal murine ductus arteriosus tone assay (pharmacologic safety/off-target testing)Expand

In plain English

An ex vivo fetal murine ductus arteriosus tone assay was used as a safety counterscreen for lead uterus-selective tocolytic candidates. The two lead drugs highlighted in the abstract (fosaprepitant dimeglumine and ciclesonide) did not alter ductus arteriosus tone in this ex vivo assay.

Key findings

  • Fosaprepitant dimeglumine and ciclesonide did not alter tone in the fetal murine ductus arteriosus ex vivo.
“did not alter tone in the fetal murine ductus arteriosus ex vivo”
What this piece can’t prove
  • Abstract provides only a summary statement; key methodological details (exact myography method, drug concentrations, number of preparations, and statistical outcomes) are absent.
  • Ex vivo fetal murine ductus arteriosus results may not fully predict in vivo fetal cardiovascular responses or human fetal outcomes.

1 further detail could not be confirmed from the summary.

7ex vivo humanIdentify synergistic drug combinations with favorable therapeutic indices and improved tocolytic performance in vitro and ex vivo.Ex vivo human myometrial tissue contractility assay with combination pharmacology comparisonsExpand

In plain English

Ex vivo testing of human myometrial tissue identified four synergistic drug combinations that showed favorable therapeutic indices (TI > 5) and improved tocolytic potency, efficacy, or both compared with component drugs; combinations incorporated agents such as ciclesonide, indomethacin, ivermectin, atosiban, or nelfinavir mesylate.

Key findings

  • Four synergistic drug combinations displayed favorable therapeutic indices (TI > 5) and improved ex vivo tocolytic potency, efficacy, or both in human myometrial tissue.TI > 5 (as reported)
“Four synergistic drug combinations... displayed favorable TIs of >5 and improved ex vivo tocolytic potency, efficacy, or both.”
What this piece can’t prove

2 further details could not be confirmed from the summary.

8in vivo animalDemonstrate in vivo efficacy of selected drugs/combos in a mouse model of induced preterm labor with improved neonatal outcomes.Expand

In plain English

In an in vivo mouse model of induced preterm labor, administration of aprepitant, ciclesonide, and four synergistic drug combinations delayed delivery until term and improved neonatal outcomes, including increased neonatal viability and improved skin and lung maturation; several combinations reportedly outperformed their individual component drugs.

Key findings

  • Aprepitant, ciclesonide, and four synergistic drug combinations delayed delivery until term and improved neonatal viability and skin and lung maturation in a mouse model of induced preterm labor.
  • Several tested drug combinations outperformed their component drugs on the reported endpoints.
“aprepitant, ciclesonide, and four synergistic drug combinations delayed delivery until term and improved neonatal viability and skin and lung maturation in a mouse model of induced preterm labor”
What this piece can’t prove

3 further details could not be confirmed from the summary.

Finally, the search trail

Method layer

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Open the paper in Tessa

Drug repurposing identifies candidate uterus-selective tocolytics for preterm labor

Science Translational Medicine · 2026

Source record (opens in a new tab)

Why this one

Near certain

NewsLink found the paper. Tessa is where you inspect it deeply.

Papers considered

The selected paper, plus nearby candidates.

Crossref, PubMed, Europe PMC · 29 candidate papers

Selected

Drug repurposing identifies candidate uterus-selective tocolytics for preterm labor

Science Translational Medicine · 2026 · Crossref

Source (opens in a new tab)
Candidate

Advancing CNS Drug Development: the Transformative Role of Neuroimaging in Translational Medicine

Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine · 2026 · Crossref

Source (opens in a new tab)
Candidate

Translating Science into Care: Advancing the Future of Integrated and Translational Medicine

Journal of Integrated and Translational Medical Science · 2026 · Crossref

Source (opens in a new tab)

And 23 more candidates considered.