AI is helping doctors repurpose old drugs for new cures: 'The solution is in your neighborhood pharmacy'

AI is Helping Doctors Repurpose Old Drugs for New Cures

When David Fajgenbaum was in medical school, he was diagnosed with an incurable illness called Castleman disease. At 25 years old, doctors told him "there's nothing we can do," and a priest read him his last rites. The disease causes the immune system to attack and shut down vital organs for an unknown reason, with no approved treatments or cure.

"In a last-ditch effort to save me, my doctors gave me a combination of seven chemotherapies that weren't meant for my disease," Fajgenbaum explained in a TED Talk. Miraculously, the chemotherapies worked, and he returned to medical school. But when he later relapsed, he didn't accept another death sentence.

"Maybe there's another drug, made for another disease that could also be repurposed for me," he said. There was. Now 11 years in remission, Fajgenbaum has dedicated his life to repurposing existing drugs to treat conditions deemed untreatable.

He founded Every Cure, a nonprofit that uses artificial intelligence to find new uses for generic and off-label drugs, democratizing safe and effective treatments, especially for people suffering from untreatable diseases. "The vision for Every Cure is that every FDA-approved drug is used for every disease that it can possibly treat," he told Good Good Good, "not just the one or two that a drug company finds most profitable."

![David Fajgenbaum speaks at TED 2025 in Vancouver, BC.](https://images.ctfassets.net/3nanhbfkr0pc/3Nh8Ks4Ug0EvOqQKQAGKKI/d7d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d0d1d2