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Cited by 5Pharmaceutical Economics and PolicyPharmaceutical industry and healthcareBiotechnology and Related Fields

Multiple deadlocks in the development of nonprofit drugs

Open access
Cvek, Boris·2022·Drug Discovery Today
DOI 10.1016/j.drudis.2022.06.001PMC PMC9162932
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Abstract

The current Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has shown us that the pharmaceutical research community can organize and administer large nonprofit clinical trials (RECOVERY and SOLIDARITY) and achieve the swift development of common, unpatentable drugs for a new indication: in this case an old, inexpensive drug, dexamethasone, for COVID-19. Why is it that such nonprofit efforts are so rare and are not organized as a systemic, routine part of drug development in the public interest? Based on my own experience with repurposing the alcohol-abuse drug disulfiram (Antabuse) for cancer, I identify at least four serious deadlocks to development of nonprofit drugs. All of these obstacles should be addressed to leverage the potential of the COVID-19 pandemic for better future healthcare systems in all countries around the world.

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  • These characteristics reduce pharmaceutical industry incentives to fund expensive, large-scale clinical trials, creating a gap between preclinical findings and the evidence required for regulatory approval of new indications.

    “However, these same characteristics reduce pharmaceutical industry incentives to fund expensive, large-scale clinical trials, creating a gap between preclinical findings and the evidence required for regulatory approval of new indications.156,157”

    From Off-label and repurposed use of disulfiram beyond alcohol dependence: A systematic review of clinical and preclinical evidence (2026) · cites this paper as [156]

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Research works printed but not linked: 26

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Authors
Cvek, B.
Affiliations
Palacký University Olomouc (CZ)
Corresponding author
Cvek, Boris
ORCID
Cvek, Boris
Venue
Drug Discovery Today
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2022-09
Volume
27
Issue
9
Pages
2411-2414
ISSN
1359-6446 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.drudis.2022.06.001
PMC
PMC9162932
OpenAlex
W4281990832
Cited by
5
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1
FWCI
0.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Drug Discovery Today (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmacology › Pharmaceutical industry and healthcare
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Biotechnology and Related Fields
Keywords
drug repurposing, COVID-19 pandemic, dexamethasone, disulfiram, RECOVERY trial, Solidarity trial
MeSH terms
COVID-19, Delivery of Health Care, Disulfiram, Humans, Organizations, Nonprofit, Pandemics

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