Dr. David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, FCPP, is the co-founder and President of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN), Founding Director of the Center for Cytokine Storm Treatment & Laboratory (CSTL), Associate Director of Patient Impact for the Orphan Disease Center, and Assistant Professor of Medicine in Translational Medicine & Human Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania, and national bestselling author of Chasing My Cure: A Doctor’s Race to Turn Hope Into Action. Dr. Fajgenbaum is also a patient battling idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD). He became ill during his third year of medical school in 2010, had his last rites read, and had four deadly iMCD relapses. In 2012, Dr. Fajgenbaum co-founded the CDCN, through which he has spearheaded the “Collaborative Network Approach.” He currently leads over 20 translational research studies, including the first-ever NIH R01 grant studying iMCD and a clinical trial of sirolimus in iMCD.
Fajgenbaum is in his longest remission ever thanks to a treatment that he identified, which had never been used for iMCD. He described his journey in Chasing My Cure: A Doctor’s Race to Turn Hope Into Action, which has been translated into five languages, named one of the “Best Non-Fiction Books of 2019,” and profiled by Good Morning America, CNN, and BBC News, among others.
He has also identified and/or advanced 9 other treatment approaches for iMCD and cancer. Inspired by his progress unlocking new uses for existing drugs for multiple diseases, Fajgenbaum co-founded Every Cure in 2022 to unlock the full potential of every drug to treat every disease possible. Check out Dr. Fajgenbaum’s 5 minute talk about the CDCN and Every Cure during the Opening Session of the Clinton Global Initiative with President Clinton’s remarks at the end.
Check out the below video for a TED-style talk by Dr. Fajgenbaum about his battle, the CDCN’s innovative approach to research, and lessons about living from nearly dying during 2019 Exponential Medicine.