Editing Off-label use

{{Short description|Use of pharmaceuticals for conditions different from that for which they were approved}}'''Off-label use''' is the use of [[pharmaceutical drug]]s for an unapproved [[indication (medicine)|indication]] or in an unapproved age group, [[dose (biochemistry)|dosage]], or [[route of administration]].<ref name=nejm>{{cite journal |title=Regulating Off-Label Drug Use — Rethinking the Role of the FDA |author=Randall S. Stafford |journal=N Engl J Med |doi=10.1056/NEJMp0802107 |volume=358 |pages=1427–1429 |issue=14 |pmid=18385495 |year=2008|doi-access=free }}</ref> Both [[prescription drug]]s and [[over-the-counter drug]]s (OTCs) can be used in off-label ways, although most studies of off-label use focus on prescription drugs.

Off-label use is very common and generally legal unless it violates ethical guidelines or safety regulations. The ability to prescribe drugs for uses beyond the officially approved indications is commonly used to good effect by healthcare providers. For example, [[methotrexate]] is commonly used off-label because its immunomodulatory effects relieve various disorders.<ref name="pmid_21267732">{{Citation |last=Briem |first=S |display-authors=etal |year=2011 |title=[Current "off label use" of methotrexate for chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases] |journal=Z Rheumatol |volume=70 |issue=2 |pages=123–128 |pmid=21267732 |doi=10.1007/s00393-010-0685-2 |postscript=.}}</ref> However, off-label use can entail health risks and differences in [[legal liability]]. [[Pharmaceutical marketing|Marketing of pharmaceuticals]] for off-label use is usually prohibited.

==Indications and labeling laws==
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2020}}
An ''[[Indication (medicine)|indication]]'' is when a drug is medically appropriate for a given condition; an approved indication is when a government [[drug regulatory agency]] formally agrees that the drug is medically appropriate for the named condition.  Indications may depend not only upon the medical condition that is being treated, but also upon other factors, such as dose, the patient's age, size and sex, whether the patient is pregnant or breastfeeding, and other medical conditions.  For example, aspirin is generally indicated for a headache, but it is not indicated for headaches in people with an allergic reaction to it.

When the drug's manufacturer has received a [[marketing authorisation]] from the government agency, then it is allowed to promote the drug for the specific, agreed-upon approved indications in that country.  All legally approved indications are listed on the drug [[package insert]] or "label". Drug manufacturers are not legally permitted to encourage the use of regulated drugs for any indications that have not been formally approved by the country's government, even if significant scientific evidence exists for that unapproved indication, or if another country's drug agency has approved that indication.

However, healthcare providers are not required to limit prescriptions or recommendations to the indications approved by their country's drug regulatory body. In fact, the [[standard of care]] for many conditions involves off-label uses, either as first-line therapy or as a subsequent line. In other words, properly understanding why off-label use is common and usually appropriate, rather than rare and usually inappropriate, requires understanding that the distinction between regulatory-agency-approved use versus off-label use is not the same distinction as safe versus unsafe, tested versus untested, or good versus bad; it is a marker of ''increased certainty'' about a use being good (safe and effective), as opposed to less certainty—rather than a marker of good as opposed to bad. Regulatory approval for an indication requires a body of evidence that costs money to assemble, and as with [[evidence-based medicine]] generally, the desire for a vast, high-quality evidence base is an ideal that real-world practice can only aspire to and further approach, rather than completely match; there may not be enough resources to test every drug for every possible or logical indication to an exhaustive degree. Regulation of [[therapy freedom]] thus takes [[everything which is not forbidden is allowed|an approach in which anything not explicitly forbidden is allowed rather than an approach in which anything not explicitly allowed is forbidden]], and it is accepted that drugs may be used in off-label ways as long as a competent professional prescribes them.

==Frequency of off-label use==

Off-label use is very common. Generic drugs generally have no sponsor as their indications and use expands, and incentives are limited to initiate new clinical trials to generate additional data for approval agencies to expand indications of proprietary drugs.<ref name=nejm/> Up to one-fifth of all drugs are prescribed off-label and amongst psychiatric drugs, off-label use rises to 31%.<ref name = radley>{{cite journal |author1=David C. Radley |author2=Stan N. Finkelstein |author3=Randall S. Stafford |journal=[[Archives of Internal Medicine]] |year=2006 |volume=166 |issue=9 |pages=1021–1026 |title=Off-label Prescribing Among Office-Based Physicians |doi=10.1001/archinte.166.9.1021 |pmid=16682577| doi-access = }}</ref>

Among use of [[antipsychotic]] medications in the United States, a shift occurred from typical agents in 1995 (84% of all antipsychotic visits) to atypical agents by 2008 (93%). Atypical use has grown far beyond substitution for the now infrequently used typical agents.<ref name = alexander>{{cite journal |author1=Alexander GC |author2=Gallagher SA |author3=Mascola A |journal=[[Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety]] |year=2011 |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=177–184 |title=Increasing off-label use of antipsychotic medications |doi=10.1002/pds.2082 |pmid=21254289 |pmc=3069498}}</ref>

A 2009 study found that 62% of U.S. pediatric office visits from 2001 to 2004 included off-label prescribing, with younger children having a higher chance of receiving off-label prescriptions. Specialist physicians also prescribed off-label more frequently than general pediatricians.<ref>{{cite journal |first11=Alicia |last1=Bazzano |first2=Rita |last2=Mangione-Smith |first3=Matthias |last3=Schonlau |author3-link= Matthias Schonlau |first4=Marika |last4=Suttorp |first5=Robert H. |last5=Brook |title=Off-label prescribing to children in the United States outpatient setting. |journal=[[Ambulatory Pediatrics]] |year=2009 |volume=9 |pages=81–8 |doi=10.1016/j.acap.2008.11.010 |pmid=19329098 |issue=2}}</ref> In 2003, passage of the Pediatric Research Equity Act gave the FDA power to require pharmaceutical companies to perform clinical trials in all age groups in which clinical use is reasonably foreseeable. By some estimates, the number of clinical trials performed in children from 2002 to 2012 exceeded that in the prior 50 years.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Christensen ML |title=Best pharmaceuticals for children act and pediatric research equity act: time for permanent status |journal=Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=140–41 |year=2012 |pmid=23185144 |pmc=3470432 |doi=10.5863/1551-6776-17.2.140}}</ref>

In 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement regarding off-label use of pharmaceuticals in children. The article recommends to pediatricians that "Off-label use is neither incorrect nor investigational if based on sound scientific evidence, expert medical judgment, or published literature" and that "Evidence, not label indication, remains the gold standard from which practitioners should draw when making therapeutic decisions for their patients." The statement further advocates additional support and additional incentives for clinical testing of drugs in children, and publication of all results irrespective of positive outcome.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Frattarelli DA, Galinkin JL, Green TP, Johnson TD, Neville KA, Paul IM, Van Den Anker JN |title=Off-label use of drugs in children |journal=Pediatrics |volume=133 |issue=3 |pages=563–567 |year=2014 |pmid=24567009 |doi=10.1542/peds.2013-4060 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

A study published in 2006 found that off-label use was the most common in [[anticonvulsant]]s. The study also found that 73% of off-label use had little or no scientific support.<ref name=radley/>

By default, use of non-approved drugs is common in [[obstetrics]]. By 2010, during almost five decades of activity, the [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) had approved only two drugs for obstetrical indications, namely [[Oxytocin (medication)|oxytocin]] and [[dinoprostone]].<ref name=wing>{{cite journal |vauthors=Wing DA, Powers B, Hickok D |title=U.S. Food and Drug Administration Drug Approval: Slow Advances in Obstetric Care in the United States |journal=[[Obstetrics & Gynecology (journal)|Obstetrics & Gynecology]] |doi=10.1097/AOG.0b013e3181d53843 |volume=115 |issue=4 |pages=825–33 |date=April 2010 |pmid=20308845}}</ref> A small market and the high risk of medicolegal action, as exemplified by the [[Bendectin]] case, may explain the reluctance to develop drugs for approval.<ref name=wing/>

Some drugs are used more frequently off-label than for their original, approved indications. A 1991 study by the U.S. [[Government Accountability Office|General Accounting Office]] found that one-third of all drug administrations to [[cancer]] patients were off-label, and more than half of cancer patients received at least one drug for an off-label indication. A 1997 survey of 200 cancer physicians by the [[American Enterprise Institute]] and the [[American Cancer Society]] found that 60% of them prescribed drugs off-label.<ref name="npr.org">{{cite web |work=Day to Day |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95985619 |title=Prozac Isn't The Same In A Kid's Body |publisher=NPR |date=2008-10-22 |access-date=2011-11-21}}</ref><ref name="cancer01">{{cite web |url=http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/learning/approval-process-for-cancer-drugs/allpages#Anchor-Wh-36735 |title=Why is off-label use of drugs so common in cancer treatment? |publisher=National Cancer Institute |access-date=2009-07-12}}</ref> In some cases, patients may perceive the efficacy of treatments for off-label purposes to be higher than for their indicated purpose.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Jeana |last1=Frost |first2=Sally |last2=Okun |first3=Timothy |last3=Vaughan |first4=James |last4=Heywood |first5=Paul |last5=Wicks |title=Patient-reported Outcomes as a Source of Evidence in Off-Label Prescribing: Analysis of Data From PatientsLikeMe |journal=[[Journal of Medical Internet Research]] |year=2011 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=e6 |pmid=21252034 |doi=10.2196/jmir.1643 |pmc=3221356 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Frequently, the standard of care for a particular type or stage of [[cancer]] involves the off-label use of one or more drugs. An example is the use of [[tricyclic antidepressant]]s to treat [[neuropathy|neuropathic]] [[pain]]. This old class of [[antidepressant]]s is now rarely used for [[clinical depression]] due to [[Adverse effect (medicine)|side effects]], but the tricyclics are often effective for treating pain (e.g. [[neuropathy]]),<ref>{{cite journal |title=Antidepressants in the treatment of neuropathic pain |vauthors=Sindrup SH |display-authors=etal |pmid=15910402 |volume=96 |issue=6 |date=June 2005 |journal=Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology |pages=399–409 |doi=10.1111/j.1742-7843.2005.pto_96696601.x|doi-access=free}}</ref> as well as [[attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder]] (ADHD) particularly in adults.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/441910_4 |title=New Agents and Second-line Therapies for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder |website=Medscape}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/childhood-adhd/adhd-treatment-overview?page=2 |title=Treatment Options for ADHD / ADD in Children and Teens |work=WebMD}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=41885&page=2 |title=Nonstimulant Therapy (Strattera) and Other ADHD Drugs |work=MedicineNet |access-date=2015-02-03 |archive-date=2016-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305172151/http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=41885&page=2 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Society and culture==
Drug manufacturers [[Marketing of off-label use|market drugs for off-label use]] in a range of ways. Marketing practices around off-label use have caused [[List of off-label promotion pharmaceutical settlements|various of lawsuits and settlements about inappropriately promoting drugs]]. Some of those lawsuits have ended granting the [[list of largest pharmaceutical settlements|largest pharmaceutical settlements]] in the world.

In the United States in 2017, the government is considering allowing [[direct-to-consumer advertising]] to promote off-label drug use.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carr |first1=Teresa |title=FDA Considers Allowing Drug Ads for Unapproved Treatments |url=http://www.consumerreports.org/drugs/fda-considers-allowing-drug-ads-for-unapproved-treatments/ |website=Consumer Reports |access-date=3 April 2017 |date=9 November 2016}}</ref> The appointment of [[Scott Gottlieb]] to become head of the United States [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) furthered discussion, as this person advocates to allow that sort of promotion.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brill |first1=Steven |title=It's open season for off-label drug promotion |url=https://www.axios.com/its-open-season-for-off-label-drug-promotion-2209853447.html |website=Axios |access-date=24 March 2017 |language=en |date=24 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=McGinley |first1=Laurie |last2=Johnson |first2=Carolyn Y. |title=Trump to select Scott Gottlieb, a physician with deep drug-industry ties, to run the FDA |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/03/10/trump-selects-scott-gottlieb-a-physician-with-deep-drug-industry-ties-to-run-the-fda |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=24 March 2017 |date=10 March 2017}}</ref>

===Regulation in the United States===

In the United States, once a drug has been approved for sale for one purpose, physicians are free to [[medical prescription|prescribe]] it for any other purpose that in their professional judgment is both safe and effective, and are not limited to official, [[Food and Drug Administration|FDA]]-approved indications.<ref name=buckman /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beck |first1=James M. |last2=Azari |first2=Elizabeth D. |title=FDA, Off-Label Use, and Informed Consent: Debunking Myths and Misconceptions |journal=Food and Drug Law Journal |date=1998 |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=76–80 |pmid=11795338 |url=https://www.druganddevicelawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2011/10/Beck-1998-FDLJ-Off-Label-Use-Article.pdf |access-date=21 September 2022}}</ref> [[Pharmaceutical]] [[list of pharmaceutical companies|companies]] are not allowed to promote a drug for any other purpose without formal FDA approval. Marketing information for the drug will list one or more indications, that is, [[illness]]es or medical conditions for which the drug has been shown to be both safe and effective.

This off-label prescribing is most commonly done with older, generic medications that have found new uses but have not had the formal (and often costly) applications and studies required by the FDA to formally approve the drug for these new indications. However, there is often extensive medical literature to support the off-label use.

A leading example of how [[regulatory agency|regulatory agencies]] approach off-label use is provided by the FDA's [[Center for Drug Evaluation and Research]], which reviews a company's [[New Drug Application]] (NDA) for [[clinical trials|clinical trial]] data to see if the results support the drug for a specific use or indication.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/default.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603081757/http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/default.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 3, 2009 |title=Development & Approval Process (Drugs) |publisher=Food and Drug Administration |date=2009-10-27 |access-date=2011-11-21}}</ref> If satisfied that the drug is safe and effective, the drug's manufacturer and the FDA agree on specific language describing dosage, route of administration, and other information to be included on the drug's label. More detail is included in the drug's package insert.

The FDA approves a drug for prescription use, and continues to regulate the [[pharmaceutical industry]]'s promotional practices for that drug through the work of the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP, formerly the Division for Drug Marketing, Advertisement and Communication (DDMAC).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/CDER/ucm090142.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616104147/http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/CDER/ucm090142.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 16, 2009 |title=The Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) |publisher=Food and Drug Administration |date=2008-03-25 |access-date=2011-11-21}}</ref> The FDA does not have the legal authority to regulate the practice of the medicine, and the [[physician]] may prescribe a drug off-label.<ref name=buckman>{{cite court |litigants=Buckman Co. v. Plaintiffs' Legal Comm. |court=U.S.S.Ct. |vol=531 |reporter=U.S. |opinion=341 |date=2001 |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/98-1768.ZO.html |quote=the FDCA expressly states in part that '[n]othing in this chapter shall be construed to limit or interfere with the authority of a health care practitioner to prescribe or administer any legally marketed device to a patient for any condition or disease within a legitimate health care practitioner-patient relationship.' 21 U.S.C. § 396 (1994 ed., Supp. IV).}}</ref> Contrary to popular notion, it is legal in the United States and in many other countries to use drugs off-label, including controlled substances such as opiates. [[Actiq]], for example, is commonly prescribed off-label even though it is a [[Schedule II controlled substance]]. While it would be legal for a physician to independently decide to prescribe a drug such as Actiq off-label, it is illegal for the company to promote off-label uses to prescribers. In fact, [[Cephalon]], the maker of Actiq, was fined for illegal promotion of the drug in September 2008.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.usdoj.gov/archive/opa/pr/2008/September/08-civ-860.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20150713095048/http://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2008/September/08-civ-860.html |archive-date=2015-07-13 |title=Biopharmaceutical Company, Cephalon, to Pay $425 Million & Enter Plea to Resolve Allegations of Off-Label Marketing |date=September 29, 2008 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]]}}</ref> Under the [[Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act|Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)]] at U.S.C. 21 §§301-97, manufacturers are prohibited from directly marketing a drug for a use other than the FDA-approved indication. However, in December 2012, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|United States Second Circuit Court]] found that promotion of off-label uses by a company sales representative was considered to be protected speech per the First Amendment.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blogs.findlaw.com/second_circuit/2012/12/off-label-use-promotion-is-protected-free-speech.html |title=Off-Label Use Promotion is Protected Free Speech |website=Findlaw |date=2012-12-04 |access-date=2014-06-26}}</ref> In addition, the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 created an exception to the prohibition of off-label marketing, allowing manufacturers to provide medical practitioners with publications on off-label uses of a drug, in response to an unsolicited request.<ref>21 U.S.C. §360aaa-6</ref> In 2004, the federal government and whistleblower [[David Franklin (scientist)|David Franklin]] reached a $430 million settlement in ''[[Franklin v. Parke-Davis]]'' to resolve claims that [[Pfizer|Warner-Lambert]] engaged in off-label promotion of [[Gabapentin|Neurontin]] in violation of the FDCA and the [[False Claims Act]]. At the time, the settlement was [[List of largest pharmaceutical settlements in the United States|one of the largest]] recoveries against a pharmaceutical company in U.S. history, and the [[List of off-label promotion pharmaceutical settlements|first off-label promotion settlement]] in U.S. history.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2004/May/04_civ_322.htm |title=Warner-Lambert to Pay $430 Million to Resolve Criminal & Civil Health Care Liability Relating to Off-Label Promotion |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]] |date=2004-05-13 |access-date=2013-04-30}}</ref>

Litigation around the marketing of [[ethyl eicosapentaenoic acid]] (E-EPA, branded as "Vascepa") by [[Amarin Corporation]] led to a 2015 court decision that has changed the FDA's approach to off-label marketing. E-EPA was the second [[fish oil]] drug to be approved, after [[omega-3-acid ethyl esters|omega−3-acid ethyl esters]] ([[GlaxoSmithKline]]'s Lovaza which was approved in 2004<ref name=PBM2005>VHA Pharmacy Benefits Management Strategic Healthcare Group and the Medical Advisory Panel (October 2005). [http://www.pbm.va.gov/clinicalguidance/drugmonographs/Omega3acidethylestersLovazaformerlyOmacor.pdf "National PBM Drug Monograph Omega-3-acid ethyl esters (Lovaza, formerly Omacor)"].</ref>) and sales were not as robust at Amarin had hoped. The labels for the two drugs were similar, but doctors prescribed Lovaza for people who had triglycerides lower than 500&nbsp;mg/dL based on some clinical evidence. Amarin wanted to actively market E-EPA for that population as well which would have greatly expanded its revenue, and applied to the FDA for permission to do so in 2013, which the FDA denied.<ref>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Herper |work=[[Forbes]] |date=17 October 2013 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2013/10/17/why-the-fda-is-right-to-block-amarins-push-to-market-fish-oil-to-millions |title=Why The FDA Is Right To Block Amarin's Push To Market Fish Oil To Millions}}</ref>  In response, in May 2015 Amarin sued the FDA for infringing its [[First Amendment]] rights,<ref>{{cite news |first=Katie |last=Thomas |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 May 2015 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/08/business/drugmaker-sues-fda-over-right-to-discuss-off-label-uses.html |title=Drugmaker Sues F.D.A. Over Right to Discuss Off-Label Uses | access-date=17 May 2017}}</ref> and in August 2015 a judge ruled that the FDA could not "prohibit the truthful promotion of a drug for unapproved uses because doing so would violate the protection of free speech".<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Pollack |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=7 August 2015 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/08/business/court-forbids-fda-from-blocking-truthful-promotion-of-drug.html |title=Court Forbids F.D.A. From Blocking Truthful Promotion of Drug}}</ref> The ruling left open the question of what the FDA would allow Amarin to say about E-EPA, and in March 2016 the FDA and Amarin agreed that Amarin would submit specific marketing material to the FDA for the FDA to review, and if the parties disagreed on whether the material was truthful, they would seek a judge to mediate.<ref>{{cite news |first=Katie |last=Thomas |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=8 March 2016 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/09/business/fda-deal-allows-amarin-to-promote-drug-for-off-label-use.html |title=F.D.A. Deal Allows Amarin to Promote Drug for Off-Label Use}}</ref>

===Regulation in the United Kingdom===
Physicians in the United Kingdom can prescribe medications off-label. According to [[General Medical Council]] guidance, the physician must be satisfied that there is sufficient evidence or experience of using the medicine to demonstrate safety and efficacy. Prescribing may be necessary when no suitably licensed medicine is available to meet the patient's need (or when the prescribing is part of approved research).<ref>{{cite web |author=General Medical Council |title=Good Practice in Prescribing and Managing Medicines and Devices |publisher=[[General Medical Council]] |type=published guidance |date=December 2014 |orig-year=first published February 2013 |pages=10–11 |url=https://www.gmc-uk.org/ethical-guidance/ethical-guidance-for-doctors/prescribing-and-managing-medicines-and-devices |access-date=24 May 2018 |format=PDF}}</ref>

==Veterinary medicines==

The [[veterinarian]] has a much smaller [[pharmacopeia]] available than does the [[physician|human practitioner]]. Therefore, drugs are more likely to be used "off-label" – typically, this involves the use of a human medication in an animal, where there is no corresponding medication licensed for that species. This problem is compounded in "exotic" species (such as reptiles and rodents) where there are very few, if any licensed medications. In addition, especially in [[Europe]], [[equine veterinarian]]s are forced to use many drugs off-label, as the horse is classified as a "food-producing animal" and many veterinary drugs are labeled specifically not for use in animals intended for human consumption.

In the United States, this practice is permitted by the [[Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act of 1994]] (P.L. 103-396). The FDA specifically prohibits extralabel use of a number of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and hormones in food producing animals.   FDA also tightly controls the use of certain veterinary-prescribed drugs when administered in the feed of food-producing animals.<ref>[http://www.cnie.org/NLE/CRSreports/05jun/97-905.pdf "CRS Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition - Order Code 97-905"]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923055613/http://www.cnie.org/NLE/CRSreports/05jun/97-905.pdf |date=2013-09-23 }}.</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of drugs known for off-label use]]
* [[Marketing of off-label use]]
* [[Pharmaceutical marketing]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080521180039/http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/articles/bioethics/offlabel_11/ Article about the Bioethics of off-label prescribing.]

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[[Category:Off-label drug use| ]]