Repurposing drugs is a cheaper way of fighting diseases
is under fire. This week the bosses of seven large drug firms were hauled before the United States Congress to answer pointed questions about the cost of their medicines. The hearings come amid rising bipartisan anger about high drug prices. New laws are threatened . Concerns about the affordability of medicines are not peculiar to America; they are global. In Britain the price of a new drug for cystic fibrosis has provoked fury, as has the government’s refusal to pay it.
Given the untapped potential in the 9,000 generic drugs found in America alone, this could be just the beginning. One charity says it has found evidence of anti-cancer activity in almost 260 drugs that treat other conditions. An academic reckons that one in five existing cancer drugs might be effective against other cancers. Big data makes it easier to identify promising leads.
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