Where It All Went Right: Secondary Uses of Drugs
December 2014
TLDR Some drugs have gained approval for new uses, while others like tricyclic antidepressants and aspirin show promise but aren't yet approved for these uses.
The chapter from 2014 discusses various drugs that have found secondary uses beyond their original purposes. Some of these drugs, such as finasteride, sildenafil, doxycycline, raloxifene, galantamine, cyclosporine, dimethyl fumarate, and botox, have successfully passed regulatory scrutiny and have been approved for these new applications, ensuring their safety and efficacy. However, there are also cases like tricyclic antidepressants and aspirin, where despite strong evidence of potential benefits for conditions like physical pain and cancer respectively, they have not yet met the regulatory standards required for approval for these secondary uses.
