Repurposing Drugs to Discover New Treatments
12:06 minutes
Could approved drugs be repurposed to discover new treatments for chronic and rare diseases? Denise Faustman, Director of Immunobiology at Massachusetts General Hospital East, has begun a Phase II clinical trial to test if a tuberculosis vaccine can be used to treat Type I diabetes. And geneticist Christina Waters’ organization, RARE Science, works with patients and researchers to match drugs for rare diseases. Faustman and Waters discuss the potential of this approach to treatment.
Segment Guests
Denise Faustman
Denise Faustman is director of immunobiology at Massachusetts General Hospital East and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
Christina Waters
Christina Water is CEO and founder of RARE Science and vice president of applied advocacy at Agility Clinical in San Diego, California.
Meet the Producer
About Alexa Lim
@AlexaLim22Alexa Lim was a senior producer for Science Friday. Her favorite stories involve space, sound, and strange animal discoveries.