9CNN) — The practice of finding new uses for old medications — called repurposing or repositioning drugs — is not new.

The most famous (or perhaps infamous) example is sildenafil — aka: Viagra. Originally developed to treat high blood pressure, the little blue pill received US Food and Drug Administration approval in 1998 to treat erectile dysfunction, and very quickly became a blockbuster drug.

Another notable example is thalidomide. Given to women in the late 1950s to prevent morning sickness — and soon found to cause severe birth defects — it got a second life in 1998 as treatment for leprosy (now called Hansen’s disease), and then a third life in 2006, when it was approved to treat multiple myeloma, cancer of the bone marrow.

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