Florida Officials Announce New Investment in Cancer Treatments, Including Ivermectin

Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife, Casey DeSantis, made the announcement. The state’s surgeon general said they‘ll be ’looking at alternative therapies.’

Casey DeSantis speaks alongside her husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis, in a file photo. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Florida officials on Sept. 24 announced they are investing $60 million into research into cancer prevention and treatment, with a focus on repurposed drugs such as ivermectin.

Ivermectin—approved as an anti-parasitic—is cheap, typically less than $1 per pill, but that means companies do not have incentive to fund research into other uses due to the lack of possible return on investment (ROI), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s wife, Casey DeSantis, who’s a cancer survivor, told a press conference in Tampa.