Are miracle drugs hiding in plain sight?

20 insights saved from this article by @science

@science· Biology
Dexamethasone’s usefulness against COVID-19 was established in a publicly funded trial, despite its origins as a steroid.
@science· Biology
Thalidomide destroys a cancer-causing protein through the same biological tagging process involved in limb development.
@science· Biology
Moxidectin began as a veterinary dewormer before a nonprofit-funded trial found it cured 70% of childhood whipworm infections in Tanzania.
@science· Biology
In SURMOUNT-1, tirzepatide reduced prediabetes progression to type 2 diabetes by 94% over three years.
@science· Biology
Today’s longer-lasting GLP-1 drugs trace back to a peptide discovered in Gila monsters.
@science· Biology
Exendin-4 lasts for hours, while natural human GLP-1 lasts minutes because one changed amino acid resists enzymatic breakdown.
@science· Biology
Xanomeline reduced hallucinations in dementia trials before researchers developed it as a schizophrenia treatment.
@science· Biology
Gila monster venom contains Exendin-4, a peptide that resembles human GLP-1 and activates the same receptor.
@science· Biology
Most people begin regaining weight after stopping GLP-1 drugs, while an 18-month trial captures only a short window.
@science· Biology
By June 2020, RECOVERY showed hydroxychloroquine failed while dexamethasone worked, months before vaccines arrived.
@science· Biology
A moderate drug effect can become an enormous public benefit when it reaches a very large patient population.
@science· Biology
Gila monsters survive on only a few meals per year while controlling blood sugar, pointing scientists toward unusual biology.
@science· Biology
Nobody knows whether Shingrix, the newer adjuvanted subunit shingles vaccine, matches, beats, or trails the older live-attenuated vaccine against dementia.
@science· Biology
Over three years, diabetes developed in about 18% on placebo versus about 2% on tirzepatide.
@science· Biology
Pull funding works best when useful knowledge is scattered across firms and no single funder can see the best path.
@science· Biology
Repurposed drugs begin with a major advantage: existing treatments provide a large body of safety data.
@science· Biology
Drug repurposing declines as medicines age, especially when long trials shrink their remaining patent lives.
@science· Biology
A compelling biological discovery can wait years for medicine when its commercial potential is dismissed.
@science· Biology
GLP-1 drugs are being investigated for heart disease, kidney disease, sleep apnea, and Alzheimer’s disease.
@science· Biology
Vaccines given broadly to healthy children demand highly specific, low-toxicity effects, limiting repurposing opportunities.

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