Jay Bulger
Founder, Bronx Legends Boxing Academy
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“Change doesn’t arrive all at once — it grows quietly, in the moments where someone feels seen, heard, and no longer alone.”
CONVERSATION
Q:
Why did you start Every Cure?
DAVID
I started Every Cure because I wanted to address the tragedy that millions of patients die from diseases that could be treated with existing drugs that were made for other diseases. I’m personally alive because I repurposed the drug sirolimus to treat my rare and deadly illness called Castleman disease. Ever since that drug started saving my life, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about all of the other drugs that are out there that could potentially treat more diseases and more patients right now.
I’ve helped to advance 14 repurposed drugs for diseases they weren’t intended for through the nonprofit Castleman Disease Collaborative Network and my lab at the University of Pennsylvania. I joined together with Grant Mitchell and Tracey Sikora to co-found Every Cure as a nonprofit so we can scale this impact across dozens and maybe even hundreds more diseases.
I’ve helped to advance 14 repurposed drugs for diseases they weren’t intended for through the nonprofit Castleman Disease Collaborative Network and my lab at the University of Pennsylvania. I joined together with Grant Mitchell and Tracey Sikora to co-found Every Cure as a nonprofit so we can scale this impact across dozens and maybe even hundreds more diseases.
Q:
In your own words, what is Every Cure about?
DAVID
Every Cure is a nonprofit on a mission to save and improve lives by repurposing existing drugs for devastating diseases. We are about using our powerful AI platform to find the most promising drug repurposing ideas and then rigorously evaluating them in the lab and clinical trials so we can reach as many patients as possible with these treatments hiding in plain sight.
We have an incredible team that is relentlessly focused on patient impact, we’re always looking to “innovate efficiently” – meaning we look for the best path to our solutions without reinventing the wheel, and we realize that our trust and credibility are essential to being able to achieve our mission. We are proud to be the only entity in the world that is focused on all drugs and all diseases and that is end to end from discovery through patient impact. We recognize the importance of collaboration and data and outcome-driven.
We have an incredible team that is relentlessly focused on patient impact, we’re always looking to “innovate efficiently” – meaning we look for the best path to our solutions without reinventing the wheel, and we realize that our trust and credibility are essential to being able to achieve our mission. We are proud to be the only entity in the world that is focused on all drugs and all diseases and that is end to end from discovery through patient impact. We recognize the importance of collaboration and data and outcome-driven.
Q:
When did you know that it was actually working? And how did that feel?
DAVID
The moment Sirolimus started saving my life was when I realized I would need to make my life’s mission doing this for other people. With every patient we’ve saved and disease we’ve treated (and with every patient we haven’t been able to save), I’ve become more and more committed to this work. It’s hard to describe what it feels like to save someone’s life with a drug that wasn’t meant for their disease. It’s incredible and even more incredible when you see what they go on to do in their lives – get married, see their kids graduate high school, start a new profession, continue doing the work they always loved doing…
The first time we treated a patient with a high scoring drug from our AI platform and it worked was so incredible.
The first time we treated a patient with a high scoring drug from our AI platform and it worked was so incredible.
Q:
Was it always well known that drugs can be repurposed? Why do you think it took so long for someone to experiment with repurposing on this profound level?
DAVID
Doctors and researchers have tried drugs for other diseases somewhat randomly over the years. For example, viagra was repurposed from heart disease to erectile dysfunction and now to a rare pediatric lung disease. Thalidomide was repurposed from being an anti-nausea medicine to a treatment for leprosy and multiple myeloma. Unfortunately, these discoveries tend to occur because of one doctor or one researcher thinking out of the box and they typically only reach patients when there’s a path to profitability.
The barriers to drug repurposing before Every Cure were that it’s not profitable to find a new use for an existing medicine so no one was incentivized to find them, the technology didn’t exist to identify and rank the best repurposing ideas across all drugs and all diseases, and no entity took responsibility for searching for them. Every Cure was created to address these barriers as a non-profit organization that built a powerful AI platform to identify the best repurposing opportunities and take responsibility for getting them to patients.
The barriers to drug repurposing before Every Cure were that it’s not profitable to find a new use for an existing medicine so no one was incentivized to find them, the technology didn’t exist to identify and rank the best repurposing ideas across all drugs and all diseases, and no entity took responsibility for searching for them. Every Cure was created to address these barriers as a non-profit organization that built a powerful AI platform to identify the best repurposing opportunities and take responsibility for getting them to patients.
Q:
There are lots of fears and speculation around AI but it’s helped you save countless lives. What are your thoughts on it and how it’s helped your projects?
DAVID
I also have concerns and fears about AI. We’ve seen first-hand its incredible power and the amazing trajectory of improvement over the last 4-5 years. When it is harnessed in the right way, it can literally save lives. When it is harnessed in the wrong way, I am afraid of the damage it will be able to do.
Q:
What is the one thought or idea that keeps you going?
DAVID
The fact that there are patients today who are suffering while there’s a drug in the local pharmacy that could save them but their doctors don’t know about it. And knowing that if we can unlock that treatment in time, then we can save their life and give them more time to pursue their dreams, gives us the fuel we need to keep going even through the difficult times.
Q:
What would you say to people who want to change the world for the better?
DAVID
We all need to change the world for the better. This is the fourth non-profit initiative that I’ve created in the last 20 years to tackle a problem in the world, and I can’t put into words how special each initiative has been to me and those we’ve helped. I’ve learned that you need to have a clear vision for the world you’re trying to create, you need to build an amazing team, and you need to take these challenges on one step at a time.
I started a nonprofit organization called National Students of AMF in 2006 for grieving college students after my mom died from cancer when I was in college and I observed all of the other college students who had been grieving in silence. In 2012, I launched the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN) to find a cure for Castleman disease and transform survival for patients like me. In 2017, I was honored to work with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to scale our unique patient-driven collaborative network approach to 100 other rare diseases through the Rare As One Network.
In 2020, I created the Center for Cytokine Storm Treatment & Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania to expand our work to cytokine storm disorders that are similar to Castleman disease. And, in 2022, I co-founded Every Cure. In 2022, I also created the TCF7L2-related neurodevelopment disorders (TRND) Network to advance research for and connect patients and families with TRND.
I started a nonprofit organization called National Students of AMF in 2006 for grieving college students after my mom died from cancer when I was in college and I observed all of the other college students who had been grieving in silence. In 2012, I launched the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN) to find a cure for Castleman disease and transform survival for patients like me. In 2017, I was honored to work with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to scale our unique patient-driven collaborative network approach to 100 other rare diseases through the Rare As One Network.
In 2020, I created the Center for Cytokine Storm Treatment & Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania to expand our work to cytokine storm disorders that are similar to Castleman disease. And, in 2022, I co-founded Every Cure. In 2022, I also created the TCF7L2-related neurodevelopment disorders (TRND) Network to advance research for and connect patients and families with TRND.