AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Takeda, Pfizer and Eli Lilly are among seven drugmakers making their discarded molecules available in what amounts to a molecule library.

PMLive reports the deal is through an agreement with the United Kingdom’s Medical Research Council and builds on an effort AstraZeneca and the MRC kicked off three years ago.

PMLive says this 2011 effort has already started to pay off, and that researchers using the AstraZeneca molecule library may be able to use a compound that was developed to treat acid reflux to treat chronic cough instead.