Drug rediscovery to prevent off-label prescription reduces health care costs: the case of tioguanine in the Netherlands.

We have been concerned with drug rediscovery since 2001 at the Gastroenterology unit of the VU University Medical Center [1]. Generic therapy, o en successfully used off-label in daily practice and well described in the literature in large observational studies, should be further developed for safe and economically viable use. To prevent off-label use but also to encourage scienti c exploration of the potential of available drugs, legislative authorities should stimulate reregistration of these drugs.