Capturing unexpected benefits of research

25%-40% of the sales of top-selling drugs in the UK and USA are for newindications discovered only after the drugs were launched on the market, reports the UK industry-backed Office of Health Economics.

New uses can emerge following basic science discoveries which reveal mechanisms of action or fundamental properties of an existing technology, it says. Also, "translational" research can identify new uses based on known properties and mechanisms of action, applying them to other, closely related, disorders or organ systems. Alternatively, new clinical observations can suggest new targets for existing medicines.

For example, the discovery of Helicobacter pylori's role in causing peptic ulcers has led to new treatment approaches, while serendipitous findings in early-stage clinical trials revealed the benefit of Viagra (sildenafil) in erectile dysfunction. Translational research has expanded the range of conditions to which photodynamic therapy can be applied, from the destruction of cancer to the treatment of occlusive arterial disease, and both basic science and clinical observation have contributed to new indications for beta blockers and ACE inhibitors in cardiovascular medicine.