The Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR) is partnering with a public charity, Cures Within Reach, to encourage “rediscovery research,” the “repurposing” of already approved medical treatments to other conditions or diseases for which there are no “universally” effective therapies.

With research and development costs for many drugs reaching well into the billions, pharmaceutical companies want more than ever to determine whether their drugs already at market have any hidden therapeutic benefits that could warrant putting additional indications on the label and increasing production.