Tocilizumab was a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. But, during the Covid-19 pandemic it was used as an injection to treat the symptoms of the coronavirus.
The pandemic led to many drugs being repurposed. Examples include hydroxychloroquine, HIV drugs and vitamin C.
The drug developed by Gilead for Ebola received FDA approval for emergency use for Covid-19 patients. Subsequently, India, too, gave approval for emergency use. Favipiravir, a drug used to treat new strains of influenza, received emergency use authorisation from the FDA and in India for mild to moderate Covid-19 patients.
Then, in 2021, the UK's National Health Services started a project called Medicines Repurposing Programme. Its aim is finding alternative use for existing medicines.
But, perhaps the project was not so novel. Experts say that this has been going on for centuries. Many a time, drugs have been repurposed without being labelled so. The oldest example of drug repurposing is aspirin, and it is also the drug that has been repurposed the most.
When German company Bayer discovered the molecule in 1899, it was thought of as an analgesic. Later, it was found that aspirin also helped in decreasing blood clots. As a result, it was approved for use as an antiplatelet drug and millions across the world used low doses of aspirin to prevent heart attacks. This discovery came almost a century after aspirin was discovered and it led to a Nobel Prize. Now, research has it that aspirin may help in the prevention of colon cancer.
Similarly, sildenafil (better known as Viagra), developed by US pharmaceutical company Pfizer in 1989, was a drug to lower blood pressure. But, during trials, people gave feedback that they were getting penile erections.
Denne historien er fra March 03, 2024-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra March 03, 2024-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
