Empowered Patient Podcast

Tina Liedtky, President of Transplant Diagnostics at Thermo Fisher Scientific, identifies the significant challenges in the US organ transplant system that must be addressed to meet the demand for organs. Patient access to transplant care is hindered by geography, the need to match donors and recipients, and the threat of organ rejection. Living donations, particularly of kidneys and livers, are a solution to address the organ shortage, as organs from living donors often lead to better outcomes and can be scheduled to avoid damage caused by organ transportation. Tina explains, "So first of all, I would say that organ transplantation saves thousands of lives a year and gives patients with end-stage organ disease the ability to extend their lives meaningfully for many years. However, the organ transplant system in the US is not perfect, and it faces several real challenges. The most pressing challenge is a persistent imbalance between organ supply and demand, in that far more patients are in need of a lifesaving transplant than there are available organs, which leaves many patients waiting too long for a compatible organ or perhaps will never receive a compatible match. And unfortunately, for those patients left waiting, many get sicker, and often patients die while waiting on the wait list. So this gap in supply and demand is real, and it underscores the importance of living donation, which can help expand the pool of available organs and give patients a chance at the timely care that they need." "Another significant challenge is patient access to organ transplant care. For instance, in the weeks leading up to the transplant procedure and after the procedure, patients are often required to be living or situated near the hospital or the transplant center where the surgery is performed. This can pose a challenge to those who simply don't reside in areas where there are major transplant centers or who can't afford temporary housing. And that creates a socioeconomic inequity when it comes to access." #ThermoFisherScientific #Transplantation #OrganDonors #LivingDonation #HeartTransplant #OrganTransplants thermofisher.com Download the transcript here

Dr. Sev MacLaughlin, the CEO of DeLorean AI, has developed an AI platform to identify at-risk patients, including those with renal disease, cardiovascular disease, and mental health conditions. Serving smaller and mid-sized provider clinics, this approach supports the shift to value-based care by predicting adverse events, recommending preventive measures, and reducing hospitalizations and healthcare costs. By analyzing entire populations instead of samples, the platform avoids biases and overlooked subgroups inherent in traditional analytical methods. Sev explains, "So I think there's an opportunity to not only give better care at the point of care, but also aid in the discovery or assist in the diagnosis of unknown diseases that people may have in the chronic format. That may be identifying chronic kidney disease patients five years earlier, so they can have a different treatment modality and directionality in their lives, or hypertension or cardiovascular disease." "We're very strong in renal. So both chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal failure, or patients on dialysis. And then the two comorbidities that most that are huge influences for that are cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular system, and diabetes. In addition to that, we do CD and pulmonary. And then we were asked by one of our largest clients, United Healthcare, to look at mental health. And I have to say another surprise to me is how important mental health is to the other disease states, so that mental health needs to be taken care of to ensure that those individuals are medically adherent, they're going to their appointments, they're taking their medications, they're taking their health seriously. And that is something that I learned was most important and needed to be treated in parallel with the primary care diagnosis." #DeLoreanAI #PreventativeCare #RenalCare #MedAI #Diagnostics #PopulationHealth #RiskStratification DeLoreanai.com Download the transcript here

Antoine Pivron, Vice President of Health Solutions in the B2B division at Withings, highlights the clinical-grade connected devices that are changing the remote patient monitoring market. The equipment and AI-enhanced tools are designed to focus on personalized patient engagement and retention, ultimately leading to improved health outcomes. The data made available identifies trends over time, allowing for intervention when necessary, and is presented in a form that emphasizes prevention rather than reaction. Antoine explains, "We are very well known for our connected devices, especially the weight scales. So we were the first company back in 2009 to develop a connected weight scale, and now we are the leader in this field, mainly in Europe and in the US. So I think we might have the broadest ecosystem of connected devices to be honest, on the market. So we have weight scales, but we also have blood pressure monitors, activity trackers with smart watches. We also have urine analyzers that we're going to launch next week, actually. We really do have a huge range of products that can be used at home to remotely monitor patients." "They're actually analyzing the trends over weeks, months, and they have an intervention when there is something that is not going in the right direction. So it's more about managing alerts if needed. For instance, in chronic heart failure, most remote patient monitoring programs, doctors manage alerts only. And for obesity care, it might be like coaches or nutritionists having a one-time a week or a one-time a month video call with the patient, and they're just managing the trends. So it's not about being in constant alert, it's about having more data to help them make the right decision." #Withings #DigitalHealth #RemoteMonitoring #ConnectedDevices #MedTech withings.com Download the transcript here

Dr. Jay Lalezari, CEO of CytoDyn, is focused on solid tumor immunology, particularly in triple-negative breast cancer, where their lead drug, leronlimab, is showing significant long-term survival benefits. This monoclonal antibody targets the CCR5 receptor, converting cold tumors into hot tumors and making them more susceptible to immunotherapy checkpoint inhibitors. Work with leronlimab for 20 years has demonstrated the potential for use in colorectal cancer as well as TNBC, and to vastly expand the patient population that could benefit from immunotherapy. Jay explains, "When I became CEO back in November of 2023, my first order of business was to figure out where CytoDyn should go with this intriguing monoclonal antibody called leronlimab that targets CCR5. And we looked at a number of indications, and by far and away, the data that we found in solid tumor oncology is clearly the place CytoDyn will go to create the most benefit for patients and the most benefit for our shareholders. We recently presented some data in triple-negative breast cancer that is truly remarkable and potentially paradigm-shifting in the world of solid tumor oncology." "Over the years, it became clear that CCR5 was not just for the virus to get inside the cell, but was playing a key role in setting up the tumor microenvironment in a variety of solid tumors that were CCR5 positive. That included typically triple-negative breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, sarcoma, glioblastoma, and the urothelial cancers in particular. So CCR5 helps the cancer set up a tumor microenvironment that helps it both build blood vessels to provide nourishment for the cancer and attract suppressor cells that keep the host immune system at bay." #CytoDyn #Oncology #Leronlimab #TNBC #ColorectalCancer #CCR5 cytodyn.com Download the transcript here

Andrew Rosen, Chief Executive Officer of the National Ataxia Foundation, has a dual mission of accelerating research for treatments and cures for Ataxia while supporting the patients affected by this rare disease. Ataxia describes both a group of hereditary genetic diseases and symptoms of lack of coordination seen in other conditions. While genetic tests exist for hereditary Ataxia, a significant challenge in drug development has been the lack of a reliable biomarker. To encourage drug development, NAF has funded translational research and the world's most extensive study for SCAs, Spinocerebellar Ataxias, providing new data on the progression of the disease and for the design of future trials. Andrew explains, "NAF has been around for a long time. We were founded in the late 1950s by a neurologist in western Minnesota who had a disease called Ataxia in his family. And NAF's mission has really been twofold ever since that. Our formal statement is that we are trying to accelerate the development of treatments and a cure while working to improve the lives of those living with Ataxia. And so we really focus on research and support. We do a lot in the research world. We fund grants for researchers who are looking into the various types of Ataxia. You'd be hard pressed to find an Ataxia researcher in the world, I think I can say now at this point that hasn't received a grant from NAF at one time or another in their career. We also do a lot of translational-type research. We fund the largest natural history study in Ataxias." "So, the term ataxia itself is even complex because it both describes a genetic disease, and I think of that as capital 'A' - Ataxia, but it's also a symptom of many other conditions. So small 'a', if you will. Ataxia just means a lack of coordination. It comes from a Greek word. And so what I mean by both hereditary and other things is if you, for instance, have too much to drink, you would show signs of Ataxia. You might stumble when you walk, and your speech might be slurred. Those are the two classic symptoms of hereditary Ataxia. Right. So that's really the Ataxias that we at NAF focus on. So hereditary, as in passed from parent to child, there are several hundred forms of hereditary Ataxia, and they continue to find more as more specific genetic mutations are discovered year after year now." #NationalAtaxiaFoundation #Ataxia #PatientAdvocacy #RareDisease #SCA ataxia.org Download the transcript here

Anne Meneghetti, Executive Director of epocrates, is focused on medication management and providing tools for clinicians to better handle challenges from the increasing population of patients who take multiple drugs and are treating a wide variety of conditions. The epocrates app provides access to drug information, pill identification, checks for interactions, and calculates dosing, reducing medication errors and patient confusion. Polypharmacy patients are further at risk when they are taking over-the-counter drugs and supplements, requiring regular medication reconcilation to avoid serious drug interactions. Anne explains, "So epocrates has been around since the late 1990s, and it's the number one mobile medical app in the country in terms of physician usership. And it's both a free model and a subscription model. The main reason why clinicians use epocrates is because of the drug information. So, quickly looking up a drug dose, for example, if a drug needs to be prescribed by weight, what is the calculation for that? And there's no way that clinicians can memorize 8,000 drugs. So having it in a quick, easy-to-use app is really crucial in modern times. And sometimes it's not that the clinician doesn't know the dose of the drug, it's just that validation. When you pick up an app and look and see, yep, that's what I thought it was. And that validation, that sense of confidence, is something really precious for a busy clinician. We also use it for drug interactions." "We find that clinicians really value drug interactions because you can't memorize 8,000 drugs interacting with 8,000 other drugs. And your EHR might tell you if you're trying to prescribe two drugs at the same time, your EHR might tell you, oh, red light, green light, yellow light. But a really good drug reference, like epocrates can tell you, if you're going to prescribe these two drugs together, you need to cut the dose of this one in half and you need to monitor the potassium levels. We find that clinicians really value drug interactions because you can't memorize 8,000 drugs interacting with 8,000 other drugs. And your EHR might tell you if you're trying to prescribe two drugs at the same time, your EHR might tell you, oh, red light, green light, yellow light. But a really good drug reference, like epocrates can tell you, if you're going to prescribe these two drugs together, you need to cut the dose of this one in half and you need to monitor the potassium levels." #epocrates #MedicationManagement #Polypharmacy #DrugInteractions #DigitalHealth epocrates.com Download the transcript

Dr. Adam Kilian, Director of the Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program at the St. Louis University School of Medicine, focuses on IgG4-related disease, a rare multi-organ disease that has only recently been recognized due to significant diagnostic challenges. The MITIGATE trial is a landmark study that demonstrated that the first FDA-approved treatment, UPLIZNA from Amgen, provides an effective, targeted, steroid-free therapy. The approval of this drug is driving awareness in the medical community about IgG4-RD and whether the disease should be considered after inconclusive results for other suspected conditions. Adam explains, "IgG4-related disease is a rare disease that affects many organ systems. It's a chronic systemic, fibroinflammatory disease that can affect almost any organ system. And it will usually present with these tumor-like inflammatory masses that can cause scarring and lead to organ failure." "Our understanding of it continues to evolve, and it's had a really interesting story over the last century because IgG4-related disease affects so many different organ systems. Over the past century, there were actually many different diagnoses that were recognized, which now all fall under the umbrella of IgG4-related disease. Different scientists and physicians around the world over the years recognized the different manifestations of the disease in the pancreas, in the lymph nodes, in the head and neck, in the kidneys, or in the blood vessels. And it's only been in the last 20 years or so that we have recognized that actually all of these different disease entities from the last century are actually all manifestations of this disease, IgG4, IgG4-related disease." "The clinical trial is called the MITIGATE trial, and it's a very seminal clinical trial in rheumatology from the last several years. This was the first-ever phase three double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized controlled trial in IgG4-related disease. This was a huge trial. It was global. It was conducted in 22 countries with multiple specialties coordinating this trial. It was 52 weeks long, and its purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness and the safety of UPLIZNA in patients who have IgG4-related disease." #MITIGATETrial #IgG4RelatedDisease #IgG4RD #UPLIZNA UPLIZNA Download the transcript here

Dr. Thomas Wisniewski, Director of NYU Langone's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, shares insights from a recent study that projects new dementia cases in the US will double by 2060. New diagnostic tools have made it easier to identify early signs of Alzheimer's, and disease-modifying therapies are being approved, which can be effective if patients are treated in the earliest stages of the disease. AI is seen as a tool to help identify at-risk patients and routinely screen patients to manage the growing need for access to dementia care. Thomas explains, "This was a study that was led by the NY Optimal Institute, which is directed by Dr. Joe Resh, who's really a leader in this area and many public health issues. He did a very thorough analysis along with his team that the annual number of incident dementia cases in the United States is projected to increase from current estimates of 500,000 to around 1 million in 2060. So basically doubling in white adults. Furthermore, in African Americans, this incidence of dementia rate is expected to triple, with the largest absolute increases in dementia cases going to be in the oldest old population." "There was perhaps a lack of awareness of the prevalence of dementia in past decades. But now the importance of making an accurate diagnosis and recognition of dementia is becoming much more prominent in the medical literature and in the medical profession. And that message, I think, is permeating to the lay public as well. So there hasn't been a change in the definition so much, but there is an increase in knowledge in the medical profession about the importance of making this diagnosis, and people living alone." "It's really been a dramatic change. So, apart from being a cognitive neurologist, I'm also a board-certified neuropathologist, and it used to be that making the definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease required a chunk of brain. I'm delighted I don't need those chunks of brain anymore to make a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. There are now very clear clinical criteria and biomarker definitions for making a very accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease." #NYULangoneAlzheimers #AlzheimersDisease #DiagnosingAlzheimers #AlzheimersResearch #MedAI med.nyu/centers-programs/alzheimers-disease-research/ Download the transcript here

Pedro Sanchez de Lozada, CEO of Canid, highlights the significant financial risks that pediatricians face in managing their vaccine inventory. There are administrative burdens associated with ordering, patient demand, tracking, reporting, and filing for insurance reimbursement. The Canid platform was designed to be a vaccine-as-a-service model, removing risk and administrative work from pediatric practices, allowing small and independent practices to achieve economies of scale, and freeing up more time to spend with patients and their parents. Pedro explains, "When managing a vaccine program, the expectation is that the pediatrician will buy and maintain the stock in their office until a patient comes in and gets vaccinated. So, the refrigeration, the temperature logging, the stocking up, and the cost of the vaccine always fall as liability to the pediatrician. And what happens there is that you have a fairly small margin on these vaccines. Now I'm sure we're going to get into this, but when people say pediatricians make money on vaccines, they're usually cherry-picking." "But in reality, as a pediatrician, you actually have to stock all the vaccines. And not all of them have decent margins. Some of them have negative margins. And so as a portfolio, you end up making a pretty thin margin, and then that doesn't even include all the different challenges you might have along the way. So let's take an example: a vaccine that expires or is dropped, and unfortunately needs to be wasted." "So the way that we like to think about it is we want to make it so that the pediatrician can just give vaccines. That's all they need to think about. And what that means is, let's just imagine for a second, a refrigerator that automatically restocks itself, and you just take out the vaccines, you give it to a child, and you go on your merry way. That's obviously a little bit of an idealistic way of viewing things, but it's the experience that we want to accomplish." #Canid #Vaccinations #Pediatricians #Vaccines #PediatricVaccineManagement canid.io Download the transcript here

Alicia Silver, senior director at ADVI Health, highlights the evolving landscape of cell and gene therapy and the need to improve patient access and payment for these treatments. Availability of these therapies for solid tumors and genetic diseases like sickle cell disease is expanding due to the transition from inpatient to outpatient and community settings. The FDA's decision to remove REMS requirements for specific therapies has accelerated the growth of facilities to provide care, particularly for vulnerable populations. Alicia explains, "We work with a number of different cell and gene therapy clients throughout the sector. So we work with manufacturers who have commercialized cell and gene therapy products. So they have products that are currently on the market, manufacturers who are going through the process of clinical trials right now, working with the FDA to get approved products. But we also work with trade organizations that are working behind the scenes at the sector level, trying to get different policies and access changes for patients." "To date, there's probably close to a couple of dozen FDA-approved cell and gene therapies, and they treat everything from blood cancers, which were the first approvals in something called CAR T. We saw blood cancers as the first approvals, and then everything through to solid tumors in oncology. But also, we have newer gene therapies for conditions like sickle cell disease. And that's an area that's been incredibly underserved and definitely will benefit from a durable gene therapy that hopefully corrects some of the issues that patients with sickle cell disease have, like pain crises that end up in a hospital. So from that perspective, we see a really wide range of treatments available to patients today and many more on the horizon." "I think the price tag is definitely somewhat of sticker shock for people who don't understand how cell and gene therapy products are valued. And so what we do a lot of times, educating on, is helping payers understand that it's not necessarily $2 million for a treatment that's going to be a recurrent payment, but something that's kind of an investment in the patient's and the plan's future." #ADVIHealth #CellTherapy #GeneTherapy #AcesstoCellGeneTherapy #ClinicalTrials advi.com Download the transcript here

Dr. Stacy Lindborg, President and CEO of IMUNON, has developed a DNA-based immunotherapy candidate for the treatment of ovarian cancer. This therapy works by administering the drug, which utilizes IL-12, a powerful anti-cancer cytokine, directly into the cavity where the cancer resides, thereby affecting the tumor microenvironment. Trials are showing that the drug can produce significant life extension when used in combination with standard chemotherapy. Stacy explains, "There are about 300,000 women who are newly diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer every year, about 20,000 in the US, and the frontline standard of care hasn't seen a change in the treatment in about 25 years. So this is for newly diagnosed women. The very first treatment that they would have, which we call frontline treatment, is a platinum-based chemotherapy. So carboplatin and Paclitaxel are both administered through IV over an hour for carboplatin, about three hours for Paclitaxel. So most women go directly to chemotherapy and then surgery, and then chemotherapy. Some women will go straight to surgery and then have this chemotherapy afterwards." "Our approach is a DNA-based immunotherapy candidate that we have in Phase 3. We refer to the lead candidate as IMNN-001, and this is a non-viral nanoparticle that is administered directly into the cavity of interest. So, what we call the micro-tumor environment is the peritoneal cavity, where the cancer actually resides, and it's delivered through a catheter. And it basically has a very powerful anti-cancer fighting cytokine, IL-12, that is encoded in this immunotherapy. And it causes the cells that are within each woman's body, both cancer and non-cancer alike, to start producing activities that will help fight these complex cancer cells that exist." #IMUNON #OvarianCancer #DNABasedImmunotherapy #WomensHealth #CancerAwareness imunon.com Download the transcript here

Donovan Campbell, CEO of Medbridge, empowers clinicians through a platform that is focused on movement-based medicine and a holistic approach to patient care. MedBridge has developed AI tools to perform triage, act as a care coordinator, and serve as a patient-facing coach, offloading administrative tasks and providing better support to patients. These tools are designed to support clinicians by flagging potential issues and increasing patient engagement by delivering immediate digital access to care. Donovan explains, "We serve primarily physical therapists. And those physical therapists can work either in what's called a private practice outpatient setting or in a hospital setting, whether that's inpatient rehab or outpatient rehab. We also service physical therapy and adjacent practitioners, such as athletic trainers, speech and language pathologists, or occupational therapists. With the release of our new hybrid care platform, we're moving into different care categories, which is really exciting. So we're increasingly working with advanced primary care companies that service the employer health market. That's exciting. And we're exploring other opportunities within women's health and within orthopedics." "Movement-based medicine is relevant to a really holistic approach to patient care, and it spans multiple clinical specialties. So think about the elderly patient who's just had a right knee replacement. Movement-based medicine is critical to getting them back up and on their feet. For a woman postpartum, pelvic health and movement-based medicine are really important. And pelvic health, movement-based medicine that she can access at home, is really important in her recovery and meeting her where she's at in her phase of life. And then physical therapy obviously is all about movement-based medicine." #Medbridge #DigitalHealth #HealthcareAI #FutureAI #MovementBasedMedicine medbridge.com Download the transcript here

Dr. Matt Goldstein, CEO of jscreen, focuses on the importance and power of preventive genetic testing for reproductive carrier screening and hereditary cancer screening. All genetic tests include analysis to inform specific medical management plans and provide genetic counselors to explore options. Of particular interest is testing for the gene mutations that cause Tay-Sachs disease and helping families take proactive steps to effectively eliminate the disease in future generations. Matt explains, "So, jscreen is a nonprofit that focuses on providing access to education and high-touch support to individuals, families, and to clinicians in the area of preventive genetics and more specifically for reproductive carrier screening and hereditary cancer screening. "These types of tests actually have been around for a really long time with the advancement in genomic technology and our knowledge generally of genetics. The capabilities we have around these panels—what we can test for and what we can do with them—have grown tremendously over the last two decades. And so, what we're offering now is completely different than what you may have been offered five or 10 years ago." "What I will say is I think that this technology is the most powerful medical intervention that we have. Maybe second to vaccines, which we know obviously can have profound impacts on saving lives, preventive genetics, the ability to screen an individual or a couple or a family, and identify diseases that they may be at risk for, with things that you can do to prevent those diseases from happening or catch them early. That's the holy grail. That's the most amazing thing: being able to intervene." #jscreen #GeneticTesting #TaySachsDisease #ReproductiveCarrierScreening #HereditaryCancerScreening jscreen.org Download the transcript here

Dr. Yuri Maricich, Chief Medical Officer at CAMP4 Therapeutics, describes regulatory RNA, a new area of biology that recognizes the role of Reg RNA in the production of proteins from specific genes. This technology is well-suited for haploinsufficient diseases such as SYNGAP1-related disorders, in which there is a lack of healthy protein and both parents carry a copy of the mutated gene. The goal is to create disease-modifying treatments that correct the underlying genetic cause rather than treating the symptoms. Yuri explains, "What was really unique about CAMP4's scientific approach is that we're focused on a whole new and emerging area of biology called regulatory RNA. And these are control elements for the expression of genes. In other words, how much protein we get from a particular gene. And there's been a lot of work in the past on how to have less protein made, particularly if it's a protein that has a mutation that causes a problem. But in medicine, there have been very few opportunities to actually increase the amount of protein, but there are many diseases that need more healthy protein." "The backdrop of CAMP4 is that there was work done just over eight years ago at the Whitehead Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a lab by Rick Young, and he was working with a colleague at Boston Children's Hospital, Lenson, and they noticed that there was this group of so-called regRNAs. These were non-coding regions that historically have been really ignored. And as they looked and explored their function further, what they discovered was that, in fact, these regRNA elements play a critical role in controlling how much protein is produced. And so the story of CAMP4 has been to continue to understand and map different cell lines so that we could take a particular target gene and, by using tools or established medicines, for example, like antisense oligonucleotides, we could actually increase the amount of a gene's protein back up to normal." #CAMP4 #CAMP4Therapeutics #SYNGAP1 #CuresSYNGAP1 #regRNA #RegulatoryRNA camp4tx.com Download the transcript here

Phil L'Huillier, CEO of Scancell, has developed an off-the-shelf DNA immunotherapy designed to generate a potent and durable immune response against advanced melanoma in patients who are unresponsive to current therapies. Their lead candidate showed significant benefit when added to standard of care checkpoint inhibitors, improving duration of response without adding side effects or toxicity. Patient selection in future trials will use a blood test to identify the immune types that can be expected to respond best to the therapy. Phil explains, "Perhaps first and foremost, Scancell is a clinical-stage company developing novel active immunotherapies for patients. And our objective for patients is to pick up the patients that are unresponsive to current therapies or that respond for a short period of time to improve the overall survival through developing therapies that give a good duration of response, potent immune responses, but are also safe for patients." "Perhaps before I share results from the studies, I should step back a little bit and just tell you about the platform and the product that the data has arisen for. At Scancell, we're developing these off-the-shelf. The data that we're about to talk about comes from our lead program, which is an off-the-shelf DNA immunotherapy called Immunobody, that's the name that we use for it. And it's different from the personalized therapies, the personalized vaccines that require an individual to give a tumor sample. And then there's sequencing and manufacturing for the individual there. This is off the shelf." #Scancell #Immunobody #Immunotherapy #Cancer #Oncology #Melanoma #Biotech scancell.co.uk Download the transcript here

Dr. Costas Karatzas, CEO, Director, and Co-Founder of Acesis BioMed, is focused on developing a novel treatment for low testosterone in men, an oral peptide that stimulates the body to restore its own natural testosterone production. The therapy's mechanism differs from current testosterone replacement therapies and avoids the side effect of infertility seen in younger men using traditional TRT, which shuts down natural hormone and sperm production. This low T condition is not just a function of aging but is increasingly affecting younger men due to lifestyle, environmental factors, and co-morbidities like diabetes and obesity. Costas explains, "Our mission is to revolutionize the treatment of low T, or male hypogonadism, and related comorbidities. Although we remain laser-focused on going in phase one with a low T application, because low testosterone is involved in many other diseases like type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, obesity, etc., we're also going to be co-developing those with partnerships initially with academia and later on with other pharma companies. So this is, in a nutshell, the short story about Acesis. The differentiation being everything else marketed provides the body with exogenous testosterone, whereas in our case, we teach the body to go back to its old memory and generate or restore its own testosterone in a natural way." "Men can develop low testosterone because of the aging process, but this is a wrong idea. Low testosterone is not just an aging problem. It's true that we as men lose testosterone from the age of 30, about 1-1.5%, which is circulating in our blood. By the time we reach sixties or seventies, we could have probably 50% to 60% of the testosterone levels we had while we were at the age of 30 years old. Globally, it's estimated that about 40% of adult men may have suboptimal testosterone levels, especially if you include men with other health issues like diabetes, and we mentioned obesity. So, for older men, this is a big demographic, and as the global male population ages, the number of men with low T is increasing. Interestingly enough, the FDA has only approved the current marketed products of testosterone for men who are between the ages of 30 and 65. Anything over 65 is considered a normal process of aging according to the regulators." #AcesisBioMed #HormoneHealth #TestosteroneReplacementTherapy #TRT #MensHealthAwareness #BiotechInnovation #EndocrinologyResearch #LowT #MensHealth #Testosterone #HormoneResearch #Menswellbeing #Andropause acesisbio.com Download the transcript here

Dr. Adam Rogers, CEO of NervGen Pharma, highlights the significant unmet medical need for treating spinal cord injuries (SCI), as there are currently no approved pharmacological treatments to promote repair. The science behind this neurotrauma company's drug is designed to interfere with the inhibitory molecules that prevent neurons from regenerating after injury, allowing the nervous system to repair itself. Recent trials have shown success in patients with chronic SCI, indicating that it is possible to promote recovery long after initial damage occurs.. Adam explains, "Our mission at NervGen is to improve the lives of individuals with spinal cord injury. And there are roughly 310,000 individuals with spinal cord injury in the United States, and about 18,000, roughly 18,500 new cases per year. And it's such a difficult injury to treat because, other than largely exercise and physical therapy, there are absolutely no approved pharmacologic treatments that promote functional repair for individuals who have suffered a spinal cord injury." "I'm a physician by training. I practiced for nearly 20 years, and in the medical world, we have always been taught that when a neuron is damaged, as occurs in spinal cord injury, the neuron becomes dystrophic and cannot regenerate. So the medical community has always believed, and I was taught this and even in my practice, that once you have a damaged neuron, that neuron is dead. The problem that we have to solve here is really twofold. Number one, are neurons still viable after a central nervous system (CNS) injury? And number two, if the neuron is viable, how can we get that neuron to sprout, remyelinate, and regrow so that we can gain some function in the end organ that that neuron is supposed to innervate? NervGen’s scientific founder, the late Dr. Jerry Silver, dedicated his entire career to understanding what prevented the central nervous system from repairing itself." #NervGenPharma #SpinalCordInjury #RegenerativeMedicine #NeuroTrauma nervgen.com Download the transcript here

Dr. Sanjay Kakkar, CEO of Tensive, has developed an innovative bioresorbable polymeric scaffold for breast regeneration following a lumpectomy. The scaffold was designed to address a significant unmet need for breast cancer patients who have limited options for reconstruction. A key feature of this technology is that it facilitates a natural wound-healing response, allowing the body's own vascular, connective, and fat tissues to regrow as the scaffold gradually dissolves. Sanjay explains, "What we've been developing at Tensive is at a late clinical stage of these advanced biomaterials, and we've spent the last decade or so pioneering this bioresorbable polymeric scaffold for natural tissue regeneration. So, coming directly to your question, we're on this mission to provide breast cancer survivors with the option of a natural breast reconstruction. What we developed is this resorbable biopolymer that can be implanted at the time of the lumpectomy procedure." "But what it does is it replaces volume immediately, and it facilitates new tissue growth without cells or growth factors. This sponge, which is made of a fine scaffold matrix, gradually degrades. So it immediately fills the cavity left by the tumor removal. It facilitates natural tissue regeneration, allowing the body's own cells to grow back into the 97% of empty space, which is formed by this sponge. And that basically means that initially vascular tissue regrows inside the porous architecture, then connective tissue, and then fat comes back." #Tensive #BreastCancer #BreastCancerAwareness #ClinicalTrials #ReconstructiveSurgery #REGENERA #BreastHealth #BreastReconstruction #Lumpectomy #Innovation tensive.com Download the transcript here

Dr. Saria Saccocio, Chief Medical Officer at Essence Healthcare, is using AI to enhance care and services for patients who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage programs. One application is to analyze data related to health equity, care authorization, and to address biases. Their AI agent is being used to interact with patients, offering them the option to access a human. Integration with wearables, such as the Oura Ring, focuses on identifying clinically useful information to prevent physicians from being overwhelmed by data. Saria explains, "Medicare Advantage plans are absolutely that. It's an advantage because of the additional benefits that exist and the opportunity to connect with our members is rather unique. In fact, what I'll share with you and the audience is that AI has been a focus for us and a priority as we continue to expand the focus on quality and engagement with our members so that they have their best quality life possible to them. AI is a major piece of this work to make that happen. I can give you a couple of examples. In fact, when it comes to health equity, CMS has recently required Medicare plans to ensure that we are analyzing our data through a health equity lens. This year, in fact, we're focused on authorizations, authorizations of care. We want to make sure that it is critical to our members and AI. I see an opportunity to recognize any blind spots or implicit bias." "I think that every human being has a capability for technology. And what's critical is that we meet them where they are, that we understand what they want, what they need out of technology. I think that works as well as providers. As you see all of these AI developers starting up companies and solving problems, the conversation that we're having every day at Lumeris and at Essence Healthcare is what does the patient want? What does that member need for quality of care? And then engage and include the providers in that conversation. What makes their job easier? Because one of the challenges with new technology is that we can also reach a point of technology exhaustion. So I'll give an example of our relationship with Oura ring, the wearable device that tracks for sleep, for health, for heart rate, and a number of different measures." #EssenceHealthcare #MedicareAdvantage #HealthAI #OuraRing #DigitalHealth essencehealthcare.com Download the transcript here

Kerry Mello-Parker, Director of Rare Diseases and REMS programs at Shields Health Solutions, addresses the complexities and challenges faced by patients with rare diseases including diagnostic delays and limited access to medication. Using an integrated specialty pharmacy model, Shields works with pharmacists to have direct access to the EHR, enabling better patient monitoring, shorter time to initiate medication, tracking outcomes, and providing patients with a direct line of communication to their care team. Pharmacists treating rare diseases are also supported with specialized information on medication administration, side effects and complex billing. Kerry explains, "Shields Health Solutions is a specialty pharmacy accelerator. We partner with over 80 health systems across the United States. We support them in establishing and growing a specialty pharmacy. We help them to access critical medications. Some of them are not available at traditional pharmacies, and we support them in managing clinical quality care programs for their patients." "I'd like to step back a little and talk about what a rare disease is and how we define it. Currently, it is defined as a condition that affects fewer than 200,000 people. However, over 7,000 rare diseases exist. So when we do the math, we come to see that they are not so rare. And some estimates show that up to 10% of the US population may actually have a rare disease. And what I've seen is that there are really three main complexities of treating rare diseases and challenges that patients may face. One of them is that there is a lack of available treatment options when compared with more common diseases. So, for example, only about 10% of rare diseases have an FDA-approved treatment option, but that is changing. We have the Orphan Drug Act, which has actually changed the landscape. It has incentivized and facilitated the development of medications to treat rare diseases." #ShieldsHealthSolutions #IntegratedCareModel #SpecialtyPharmacy #RareDiseases #MedicationAdherence shieldshealthsolutions.com Download the transcript here