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Morgan, G. More patent protection for medicines with a new purpose. Nature 465, 1005 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/4651005b
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/4651005b
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Boris Cvek
Dear Editor,
I would like to join the debate on repurposed drugs (Editorial, Nature 465, 267; 2010 and Correspondence Nature 465, 1005; 2010). There is not only one way to address the issue as it is supposed in both cited items: To grant exclusivity rights. Especially in the case of marketed generic drugs, as outlined in Morgan's Correspondence, the stronger patent protection would still not protect holders of repurpose patents. In my view, more meaningful way to cope with "new uses for old drugs" issue is to finance repurposing of generic drugs from governmental funds to get inexpensive cures for deadly diseases such as cancer (that is the mission of Boston-based non-for-profit initiative GlobalCures http://www.global-cures.org/). Therefore I already have suggested an old anti-alcoholic drug Antabuse as the pilot case of "nonprofit drug" (Int. J. Cancer 127, 2486; 2010 and Int. J. Cancer in press). This approach could save today's health care systems worldwide and protect them from rising costs.
Recently, I have found an illustrative case report on what Antabuse can achieve (cited from Edward F. Lewison: Spontaneous Regression of Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer 1977, pp. 47-53):
"A 35 year old female was operated upon for breast cancer in 1956. Sha remained well for three years until 1959. At that time severe back pain developed as the result of metastases to the spine, ribs and pelvis with collapse of T-5. Sha was treated by oophorectomy, radiation therapy and hormone therapy and her condition improved for the next two years. However, in 1961 she became a severe alcoholic and it was necessary to discontinue all hormone therapy and antabuse (disulfiram) was started. Over the next 10 years – from 1961 to 1971 – complete resolution of all bone lesions in the spine, skull, pelvis and ribs gradually occured and the patient remained clinically free of cancer with no further hormone therapy, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy."
Yours Sincerely
Boris Cvek
Department of Cell Biology and Genetics
Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic
E-mail address: cvekb@seznam.cz
More about me: http://network.nature.com/p...