EU: European scientists show how drug side effects could provide new medicines
September 1st, 2008
By Alan Osborn
A study by European researchers has suggested that new uses might be found for marketed drugs based on unwanted side effects. A striking example is the drug Viagra which was initially developed to treat angina but where its side effects of prolonged penile erection led to the development of a new blockbuster drug.
The new study, by researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), envisages a computational method that compares the similarity of the side effects of different drugs and predicts how likely it is that the drugs act on ...
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