WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, POLLO
Repurposing existing drugs for new uses is not a new thing, but when it happens, it’s usually little more than a happy accident—a lucky observation or a fortuitous mistake. Now, scientists are taking the chance out of the equation (see The Scientist’s recent feature on this topic). The latest in a string of efforts to streamline repurposing efforts, bioinformatician Atul Butte of Stanford University School of Medicine in California and his colleagues compiled a database that collates information on gene activity profiles for the 25,000+ human genes, and how they're affected by drugs and disease.
"This promises new uses for drugs that have already been tested for their safety and offers a faster and cheaper way to new medicine," Butte told ScienceNOW.
So far, the ...
