Under federal rules, doctors may prescribe a licensed drug for unapproved uses.

However, doctors often use licensed drugs for unapproved uses, and many are now expected to use the new combination for heart attacks.

Health officials, however, said yesterday that they were encouraged that the patient seemed to be responding to treatment that includes two licensed drugs.

Some may be as good as licensed drugs, or better.

A psychiatric medication is a licensed psychoactive drug taken to exert an effect on the chemical makeup of the brain and nervous system.

Legal experts have disagreed on whether the agency has the right to curb the ability of doctors to prescribe a licensed drug.

The study, appearing in The Lancet, a medical journal, shows the virus to be resistant to nearly all licensed drugs and particularly aggressive.

He added that it was not Searle's policy to encourage doctors to prescribe licensed drugs for unapproved uses.

The expedited process is also designed to encourage manufacturers to create a single pill, consisting of two or three licensed antiretroviral drugs.

It can be a long way from the laboratory to a licensed drug, and most drugs falter along the path.