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A comment on FSU research team makes Zika drug breakthrough.

Re:FSU research team makes Zika drug breakthrough by devy on Tuesday August 30, 2016 @04:28PM (#12393579)
TL;DR, the identified/named drug that may be repuposed to prevent Zika virus is called Niclosamide, wikipedia has already been updated[1] with its side benefit :)

Nicolsamide is also listed as WHO's "one of the most important medications needed in a basic health system."[1]

There should be more drug repurposing researches to be done but it's probably profit-prohibiting for the big pharmas :(

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niclosamide

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Re:FSU research team makes Zika drug breakthrough by Domenic_S on Tuesday August 30, 2016 @05:42PM (#12394167)
Was the "big pharma" snark really necessary? Seems to me drug repurposing would be a huge profit-maker.

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-label_use

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Re:FSU research team makes Zika drug breakthrough by thirstytho on Tuesday August 30, 2016 @06:03PM (#12394323)
Unfortunately since they get paid on IP, it's more like the opposite. A minor revision to replace a proved drug with a re-patentable version is a little work for a lot of money; proving a new use for an out-of-patent drug is a lot of work for very little money.

I don't necessarily agree with the snark but we'd probably be better off if more medical research were not profit-motivated.

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Re:FSU research team makes Zika drug breakthrough by mattkrause on Tuesday August 30, 2016 @11:08PM (#12395730)
> proving a new use for an out-of-patent drug is a lot of work for very little money.

That's not entirely true. There are programs in the US and UK which offer "marketing exclusivity" for companies that perform trials validating new uses for existing drugs. These aren't exactly patents, but it does provide a financial incentive.

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Re:FSU research team makes Zika drug breakthrough by S_Daedalus on Tuesday August 30, 2016 @06:25PM (#12394460)
I'm curious what about that you think was snark, or if you're just offended by the phrase.
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