TED Talks Daily – How Nearly Dying Helped Me Discover My Own Cure (and Many More)

Speaker: Dr. David Fajgenbaum
Date: September 8, 2025
Host: TED
Guest Q&A: Latif Nasser (Radiolab, TED Guest Curator)
Main Theme: Harnessing AI and drug repurposing to unlock life-saving treatments hiding in plain sight

Episode Overview

In this powerful episode, physician-scientist Dr. David Fajgenbaum shares his extraordinary journey from a near-fatal diagnosis with Castleman disease to pioneering an innovative approach that repurposes existing medicines using AI. Fajgenbaum outlines how his own quest to save his life led to the founding of EveryCure, a nonprofit aiming to systematically discover new uses for existing FDA-approved drugs—offering hope to millions suffering from incurable diseases. The episode features a TED talk followed by a short Q&A with Latif Nasser.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Near-Death and Awakening (03:16 – 07:00)

• Fajgenbaum recounts his first brush with death at age 25:
  • Organs shutting down, doctors out of options, family saying goodbye, receiving last rites for Castleman disease (a rare immune disorder).
  • “I was 25 years old, a former college quarterback and a medical student... And yet here I was, literally dying from a disease that I'd never even heard about during medical school.” (03:43)
• Multiple relapses, devastation, and lost hope.
  • “I realized that hope alone is not enough. If I wanted any chance of survival, I would need to turn my hope into action to try to find a treatment to save my life.” (05:27)

2. The Power and Promise of Drug Repurposing (07:00 – 10:00)

• Repurposed Drugs Save Lives:
  • Last-ditch 7-drug chemotherapy (for unrelated diseases) saves Fajgenbaum’s life.
  • Realizes many drugs have hidden powers if matched to the right disease.
  • Examples: Viagra, Thalidomide—drugs researched for one disease but now used, successfully, for entirely different conditions.
  • Explains “off-label prescribing”—1 in 4 US prescriptions written this way.
• Discovers own cure:
  • Identified overactivity in immune signaling; tried sirolimus (a transplant drug)—not previously used for Castleman disease.
  • Result: “In the three years before I started Sirolimus, I nearly died five times. But since starting it, I’ve been in remission for over 11 years.” (09:27)

3. Founding EveryCure and Building the AI Revolution (10:00 – 13:20)

• EveryCure’s Mission:
  • “In 2022, I co-founded EveryCure, a nonprofit organization that's on a mission to unlock the full potential of each and every drug to treat each and every disease that it possibly can.” (10:35)
• Early Successes:
  • 14 repurposed treatments advanced for various diseases.
  • Personal stories of those saved—like Kyla and Michael.
• The Problem:
  • There are 4,000 FDA-approved drugs, and 14,000+ diseases without a single approved therapy.
  • Repurposing is rarely profitable, so not systematically pursued—especially for rare and generic drugs.

4. The Netflix of Drug Discovery – How AI Supercharges Repurposing (13:20 – 15:00)

• AI as a Matchmaker:
  • “We’re utilizing artificial intelligence to scan across the world’s knowledge of all 4,000 drugs and all 18,000 diseases to find the most promising opportunities to save and improve lives.” (12:46)
  • Analogy: Like Netflix using user data to suggest movies, EveryCure’s AI predicts potential new uses for drugs by analyzing biomedical knowledge networks.
• Operational Approach:
  • Scan millions of drug–disease matches; prioritize high-impact pairings; advance through lab work and trials; spotlight existing overlooked matches.

5. Turning Hope into Reality – Audacious Project and Early Patient Outcomes (15:00 – 15:55)

• Funding and Community:
  • The Audacious Project and federal grants (e.g., ARPA-H) fund EveryCure’s AI engine.
  • Goal: Repurpose 15–25 additional treatments by 2030—eventually dozens or hundreds.
• Immediate Impact:
  • Fajgenbaum shares the story of a Castleman patient saved by the #1 drug from their AI platform after all other treatments failed.
  • “He was getting ready to say goodbye to his wife and his daughter... We recommended this number one drug from our platform and amazingly, it saved his life. He’s been in remission now for over two years.” (14:43)
• Sometimes, the answer already exists but is overlooked:
  • Story of Leucovorin transforming the lives of children previously thought nonverbal.

6. The Call to Action – Unlocking Hidden Cures Through Collaboration (15:55 – 16:58)

• Emotional appeals—stories of patients given up for dead, now planning weddings and living full lives thanks to repurposed treatments.
• Closing question: “How many of us have sat with someone we loved... and heard the words ‘we’ve tried everything. There’s nothing more we can do.’ What if we haven’t tried everything?” (15:47)
• Fajgenbaum urges listeners to join the movement: “We can’t do it alone and we need your help. Please join us to unlock every cure...” (16:35)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On hope and action:
  “I realized that hope alone is not enough. If I wanted any chance of survival, I would need to turn my hope into action to try to find a treatment to save my life.” (05:27, David Fajgenbaum)

• On off-label prescribing:
  “One in four prescriptions written every single day in the US is off label.” (08:01, David Fajgenbaum)

• On the potential:
  “We've developed 4,000 drugs for about 4,000 diseases. But there are over 14,000 diseases that don't have a single approved therapy.” (10:57, David Fajgenbaum)

• AI analogy:
  “You can think about it a bit like Netflix... we use the world’s knowledge of all approved drugs and all diseases and the connectedness between them to predict which drugs might be useful in new ways much faster than any team of humans ever could.” (12:54, David Fajgenbaum)

• On being out of options, but finding the answer:
  “Instead of planning Joseph’s funeral service, Joseph and Tara are planning their wedding day...” (15:29, David Fajgenbaum)

Q&A with Latif Nasser (15:01 – 16:50)

Highlights:

• Nasser expresses disbelief and awe at the model:
  • “You're telling me that there are dying people waiting for a drug to be discovered, but actually they can just go down to their corner pharmacy... there might be a cure for them at an affordable price.” (15:12, Latif Nasser)
  • Fajgenbaum: “That's right... it is, except for the fact that it's just not profitable to do this. So that's why it exists.” (15:21, David Fajgenbaum)
• The challenge of incentives:
  • Fajgenbaum discusses systemic disincentives for repurposing old/generic drugs.
• Historical context:
  • Nasser notes, “For a lot of history, medicines were cure alls... and then so much of modern medicine was evidence based, targeted... it’s almost like you're saying… we need to broaden it out again.” (15:33, Latif Nasser)
  • Fajgenbaum: “That's exactly right... dozens of opportunities... just sort of get lost. And so we're trying to uncover them...” (16:00)
• How listeners can help:
  • Report experiences at everycure.org/ideas.
  • Donate and amplify the message.

Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-------------|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:16–07:00 | Fajgenbaum recounts personal health crisis and awakening | | 07:00–10:00 | Drug repurposing explained; discovery of own treatment | | 10:00–13:20 | Foundation and mission of EveryCure, early cases and barriers | | 13:20–15:00 | AI-powered approach and the Netflix analogy | | 15:00–15:55 | Audacious Project, case stories, and initial impacts | | 15:55–16:58 | Call to action and appeal for collective effort | | 15:01–16:50 | Q&A with Latif Nasser: disbelief, context, ways to help |

Takeaway Message

Dr. Fajgenbaum’s story is more than inspiration—it's a paradigm shift. Through relentless self-advocacy, scientific innovation, and community collaboration, he demonstrates that life-saving treatments may already exist, waiting to be matched through AI and repurposing efforts. EveryCure’s mission is clear: unlock these cures for all diseases, for all patients, and ensure that hope always leads to action.

Call to action:
Visit everycure.org to share stories, donate, or help spread the word.