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. 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 . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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664. Are Thousands of Medical Cures Hiding in Plain Sight? is an episode from Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher.

This episode is 00:51:45 long.

This episode was published on Feb 20, 2026.

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