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Updated: Apr 7, 2026

Drug Repurposing Hypothesis Generation Using the "RE:fine Drugs" System
Published on: December 11, 2016
[Pertinence of Off-label Prescriptions of Innovating and Expensive Drugs in a University Hospital]
Amélie Falabregues1, Marion Daul1, Bertrand Pourroy2
1Comité de Sécurisation des Produits de Santé (COSEPS), Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France.
Objectives:
Pertinence of off-label prescriptions of innovative and expensive drugs needs a strict scientific appraisal to prevent adverse reaction risks and financial drift.
Methods:
Pertinence of such prescriptions has been analyzed in a University Hospital by bibliometric methods. Scientific publications issued from this clinical activity have been also evaluated.
Results:
Oncology differed from other clinical specialties by a better pertinence in justifying off-label prescriptions (good evidence level in 46% vs. 21%, scientific publications issued from A/B ranked journals: 51% versus 41%). Quality of scientific production from oncologists was also better (publication impact factor [IF] mean: 4.571 versus 2.245).
Conclusions:
The better pertinence of off-label prescriptions by oncologists in comparison to others clinicians' ones was mainly due to a shorter field of indications but also to a more efficient organisation such as systematic prescription by seniors, dedicated computerized provider order entry, multidisciplinary team meetings and collaborative culture.
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