Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Drug Repurposing Hypothesis Generation Using the "RE:fine Drugs" System
Published on: December 11, 2016
Is newer always better? Re-evaluating the benefits of newer pharmaceuticals
Michael R Law1, Karen A Grépin
1Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. mlaw@chspr.ubc.ca
Abstract:
Whether newer pharmaceuticals justify their higher costs by reducing other health expenditures has generated significant debate. We replicate a frequently cited paper by Lichtenberg on drug "offsets" and find the results disappear using a more appropriate model or updated dataset. Further, we test the suitability of similar methods using newer hypertension drugs. We find our observational results run counter to well-established clinical evidence on comparative efficacy and conclude that our model, as well as other studies that do not adequately control for unobserved characteristics that jointly determine drug choice and health expenditures, are likely subject to significant bias.
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