How Nearly Dying Helped Me Discover My Own Cure (and Many More) | David Fajgenbaum | TED

Overview

David Fajgenbaum shares his extraordinary journey from battling a rare, life-threatening disease to discovering his own cure through drug repurposing. He discusses how this experience inspired him to cofound Every Cure, a nonprofit leveraging AI to identify hidden treatments in existing drugs, aiming to save lives and address the unmet needs of rare diseases.

Notable Quotes

- Hope alone is not enough. If I wanted any chance of survival, I would need to turn my hope into action. – David Fajgenbaum, on his decision to search for his own treatment.

- What if we haven’t tried everything? What if there’s a solution out there for them, and thousands, maybe even millions more? – David Fajgenbaum, challenging the limits of current medical approaches.

- There are dying people waiting for a drug to be discovered, but actually, they can just go down to their corner pharmacy, and there might be a cure for them at an affordable price. – Latif Nasser, reflecting on the potential of drug repurposing.

🩺 The Fight Against Castleman Disease

- At 25, David Fajgenbaum was diagnosed with Castleman disease, a rare condition where the immune system attacks vital organs.

- After nearly dying multiple times, he realized that waiting for a cure wasn’t an option and began searching for existing drugs that could be repurposed for his condition.

- He identified sirolimus, a transplant drug, as a potential treatment. Testing it on himself, he achieved remission and has remained symptom-free for over 11 years.

💊 The Power of Drug Repurposing

- Drug repurposing involves using existing FDA-approved drugs for new diseases. Examples include Viagra (originally for heart disease) and thalidomide (now used for leprosy and multiple myeloma).

- Repurposing is cost-effective and faster than developing new drugs, yet it’s underutilized due to lack of profitability, especially for rare diseases.

- David highlights success stories like Kylo, whose life was saved by a repurposed cancer drug, and Michael, who survived a rare cancer to walk his son down the aisle.

🤖 Leveraging AI to Unlock Hidden Cures

- Every Cure uses AI to analyze connections between 4,000 approved drugs and 18,000 diseases, identifying potential new uses for existing medications.

- The platform has already advanced 14 repurposed treatments, saving thousands of lives.

- AI’s predictive capabilities allow for faster identification of promising drug-disease matches, reducing reliance on traditional, time-intensive research methods.

👨‍⚕️ Transformative Patient Stories

- Mason, a nonverbal child, began speaking within days of starting leucovorin, a repurposed vitamin derivative.

- Joseph, diagnosed with a rare cancer, was saved by three repurposed drugs and is now planning his wedding.

- These stories underscore the untapped potential of existing drugs to transform lives when applied creatively and systematically.

🌍 A Call to Action

- David urges the public to support Every Cure by sharing experiences with off-label drug use, raising awareness, and contributing to funding clinical trials.

- He envisions a future where no patient hears, “We’ve tried everything,” but instead, “We have something.”