664. Are Thousands of Medical Cures Hiding in Plain Sight?
Existing drugs can sometimes be repurposed to treat rare diseases. But making that match can be hard — and the financial incentives are weak. Guest host Steve Levitt tries to solve the puzzle.
Episode 664 of the Freakonomics Radio podcast, hosted by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher, titled "664. Are Thousands of Medical Cures Hiding in Plain Sight?" was published on February 20, 2026 and runs 51 minutes.
February 20, 2026 ·51m · Freakonomics Radio
Summary
Existing drugs can sometimes be repurposed to treat rare diseases. But making that match can be hard — and the financial incentives are weak. Guest host Steve Levitt tries to solve the puzzle.
Episode Description
Existing drugs can sometimes be repurposed to treat rare diseases. But making that match can be hard — and the financial incentives are weak. Guest host Steve Levitt tries to solve the puzzle.
- SOURCES:
- Chris Snyder, professor of economics at Dartmouth College.
- David Fajgenbaum, co-founder and president of Every Cure, physician-scientist at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Heather Stone, health science policy analyst at the Food & Drug Administration.
- Sarrin Chethik, senior policy analyst at the Market Shaping Accelerator.
- RESOURCES:
- Chasing My Cure: A Doctor's Race to Turn Hope into Action; A Memoir, by David Fajgenbaum (2019).
- Strong Medicine: Creating Incentives for Pharmaceutical Research on Neglected Diseases, by Michael Kremer and Rachel Glennerster (2016).
- Market Shaping Accelerator.
- CURE ID Registry.
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