New drugs can take more than a decade to develop and get to market. Drug repurposing—which involves taking an existing drug or drug candidate and using it for a disease that is different from what it was originally developed to treat—can potentially lower costs and shorten development timelines. But does it work? And if so, what barriers continue to stand in the way of it becoming a more widely accepted path, especially for drugs that are already approved? In this session, we will discuss the progress and challenges for drug repurposing as well as lessons learned in the search for COVID-19 therapies.

This session will close with a Time=Lives Talk by Casey McPherson, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Everlum Bio and Founder and President, To Cure A Rose Foundation.