Trimethoprim, a drug approved to treat pneumonia, has proven useful as an AIDS treatment. In addition to discovering new treatments, off-label prescribing creates greater efficiency because it puts more choice in the hands of the public. Patients have clearly benefited from the freedom that doctors have to prescribe old drugs in new ways. The FDA claims that letting new drugs onto the market before they went through FDA-approved efficacy trials would be disastrous. The success of the unregulated off-label market shows that this claim is false.
Many states now require insurance companies to do just that.
By circumventing the FDA, off-label prescribing allows for the more adept use of medication. The widespread use and success of off-label prescriptions shows that if the FDA loosened its regulatory grip and placed more trust in doctors, newer and more affordable drugs would reach patients faster and be better suited to their medical needs.