That’s where the more than 20,000 FDA-approved drug products in our medicinal arsenal become key. Some common medications created for one indication are now used for another. Minoxidil, the drug in Rogaine, was developed to treat high blood pressure. Ketamine, now approved to treat major depression, was invented decades earlier as an anesthetic. The list goes on.

Repurposing drugs has immense benefits for both developers and consumers. Risks are greatly reduced, as the drugs have not only gone through safety trials but have been widely used. The availability of safety data shortens the timeline to approval. The need for fewer trials over less time translates into lower development costs.

In fact, repurposed drugs cost 50% to 60% less to develop than new drugs and are generally approved between three and 12 years sooner. Because these medicines have already been vetted as safe, the FDA greenlights about 30% of repurposed drugs seeking approval, almost three times more than new drug applications.

How do companies identify which drugs can potentially be repurposed? In some cases, they learn that doctors have been achieving success by prescribing treatments off-label for a condition other than the one for which the FDA approved the drug.