Beyond Biotech - the podcast from Labiotech

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder with progressive muscle degeneration and weakness due to changes in the protein dystrophin, which helps keep muscle cells intact. There are few treatments for DMD, although recent advances mean that males – who are primarily affected by DMD – can now sometimes survive into their 30s. More drugs are being developed in the fight against DMD, and this week we had a conversation with Frank Gleeson, CEO of Satellos Bioscience, about recent work on addressing DMD, including the company’s own work in the field. 00:47-02:01: About Satellos Bioscience 02:01-04:33: What is Duchenne muscular dystrophy? 04:33-05:43: What are the challenges in treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy? 05:43-09:08: What are the new treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy? 09:08-11:20: What is your treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy? 11:20-13:42: Are there different approaches to treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy? 13:42-14:06: How is your treatment delivered? 14:06-17:32: How important is early intervention? 17:32-18:56: Where is Satellos at with clinical trials? 18:56-20:41: Preclinical trial results 20:41-21:44: Outreach to the Duchenne muscular dystrophy community 21:44-23:12: Is a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy possible? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

This week, we have a conversation about clinical trial design with Gen Li, the president and founder of Phesi, a global provider of patient-centric data analysis. Earlier this year, Phesi’s global analysis of all clinical trials conducted in 2023 revealed that more than a quarter (28%) of trials were cancelled during phase II – above the average attrition rate of 20% before 2020. 00:39-01:31: About Phesi 01:31-01:49: Is your database global? 01:49-03:08: How successful are the different phases of clinical trials? 03:08-04:29: What are the biggest challenges for clinical trials currently? 04:29-06:23: Are clinical trials improving? 06:23-08:14: How can data improve clinical trials? 08:14-10:47: How does artificial intelligence affect clinical trial design? 10:47-12:53: Can clinical trial costs be reduced? 12:53-15:15: Can clinical trial times be shortened? 15:15-18:21: Can data help with clinical trial diversity? 18:21-19:46: How can you fill knowledge gaps? 19:46-22:01: Do you have less data for rare diseases? 22:01-23:28: How does your company help with clinical trial design? 23:28-25:12: What kind of solutions can you provide? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

RTW is a global multi-strategy investment firm focused on supporting innovative biotech and biopharma companies across the US, Europe, and China. The company invests in both public and private companies across their entire life cycle, with a focus on those addressing next-generation gene and RNA therapies, rare diseases, targeted oncological, cardiovascular, and neurological disorders, and more. To get an overview of what’s happening in financing for biotech companies currently, we had a conversation with Stephanie Sirota, chief business officer of RTW Investments. 01:11-04:18: About RTW Investments 04:18-06:45: What kind of biotech companies do you invest in? 06:45-08:31: How do you evaluate biotech companies? 08:31-11:36: How hands-on are you with companies you invest in? 11:36-14:08: How can companies raise funds currently? 14:08-16:05: Are there any undervalued sectors in biotech? 16:05-17:52: How important are M&As? 17:52-18:30: Is there a trend with M&As? 18:30-19:46: What is the state of the market with IPOs? 19:46-21:21: What are the major trends in biotech in 2024? 21:21-22:17: How could the US elections affect biotech funding? 22:17-24:41: What is the royalties market? 24:41-26:12: Are there regional differences? 26:12-27:52: Getting good biotech deals today Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Doloromics is a precision neuropharmaceuticals company. It was set up four years ago, to use newer technologies, particularly in the omics space, to take advantage of different single-cell transcriptomic technologies or proteomic technologies to better understand the progression of neurological diseases like chronic pain. The Doloromics pipeline is built upon a proprietary discovery and validation platform DOLOReS. Jackson Brougher, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Doloromics, is our guest on this week’s Beyond Biotech podcast. 00:46-04:41: About Doloromics 04:41-07:09: What is chronic pain? 07:09-08:30: How challenging is the subjectivity of pain? 08:30-11:04: What is nociception? 11:04-12:23: The challenges of treating pain 12:23-16:35: Is chronic pain a disease? 16:35-19:57: What is VX-548? 19:57-22:17: Monoclonal antibodies and CGRPs 22:17-26:22: How have recent advances in genomic technologies advanced the understanding of pain? 26:22-31:03: What is the DOLOReS platform? 31:03-32:37: Delivery methods 32:37-33:55: Keeping costs low 33:55-34:58: Next steps Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Based in Austin, Texas, biotech Colossal Biosciences is at the forefront of de-extinction, critically endangered species protection and the repopulation of critical ecosystems. Its mission is to use CRISPR technology to bring back extinct animals, such as the mammoth, the thylacine, and the dodo. Since DNA was recovered in 2021 from mammoths frozen in the Arctic tundra, the company has been working on splicing bits of the recovered DNA into the genome of its closest relative, the Asian elephant, as it shares 99.6% of its DNA. Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences spoke with us about the company’s plans. 01:03-02:57: Introduction to Ben Lamm 02:57-04:26: About Colossal Biosciences 04:26-09:35: What techniques are used to tackle de-extinction? 09:35-13:48: What are the biggest challenges? 13:48-14:57: What tools do you need to ‘build’ an extinct species? 14:57-19:17: How do you address not adversely affecting ecosystems? 19:17-22:22: How do you take on negativity over your de-extinction work? 22:22-23:26: Reintroducing existing species into previous habitats? 23:26-24:06: Does this extend to critically endangered species? 24:06-25:54: Why is there a lot of interest in de-extinction? 25:54-28:10: How do you ensure we don’t repeat the same patterns of extinction? 28:10-29:38: Can you address the loss of current species? 29:38-30:35: How can you help solve the loss of species? 30:35-33:48: Addressing the challenges of introducing different species? 33:48-35:22: Transparency through documentaries 35:22-37:27: 2028 goal for mammoth calves Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

It would appear that 2024 is shaping up to be a big year for the development of treatments for schizophrenia, with several clinical trials under way. Recently, Boehringer Ingelheim and Sosei Group Corporation (Sosei Heptares) announced a global collaboration and exclusive option-to-license agreement. This is to develop and commercialize Sosei Heptares’ portfolio of first-in-class GPR52 agonists, a novel G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) target. The goal is to improve patient outcomes by addressing the positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Clíona MacSweeney, Sosei Heptares’ GPR52 program leader, spoke with us about that partnership, as well as other developments in the field of schizophrenia treatments. 00:57-03:44: What is schizophrenia? 03:44-04:52: What are the current schizophrenia treatments? 04:52-06:27: Why is schizophrenia challenging to treat? 06:27-07:34: Why is 2024 a big year for schizophrenia treatments? 07:34-08:56: Seratonin and dopamine modulation 08:56-10:46: How does muscarinic modulation work? 10:46-12:35: Excitatory and inhibitory tone pipeline 12:35-14:12: Digital therapeutic and epigenetic modulation 14:12-16:12: GPR52 agonists 16:12-17:53: How are GPR52 agonists different? 17:53-19:03: Are there lots of schizophrenia treatments coming? 19:03-20:10: Will some new schizophrenia treatments be used in conjunction with existing treatments? 20:10-20:49: Is a schizophrenia cure possible? 20:49-21:22: Treatment frequency 21:22-22:21: Where is Sosei Heptares with clinical trials for schizophrenia? 22:21-22:45: What else is in Sosei Heptares’ pipeline? 22:45-23:35: Sosei Heptares becoming Nxera 23:35-24:42: Schizophrenia conferences Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

There is a clear demand for novel, neurological treatments. While it’s widely known psychedelics hold enormous therapeutic potential, there are a host of challenges, including dosing and potential side effects for the patient. Our guest this week is Dr Sam Clark, who founded Terran Biosciences to develop a safe, effective portfolio of therapeutics and technologies for patients with neurological and psychiatric diseases. 00:52-04:09: About Terran Biosciences 04:09-06:03: What are the challenges of using psychedelics? 06:03-07:32: Is there still a stigma attached to use of psychedelics? 07:32-11:45: How do psychedelics work on the brain? 11:45-13:44: Why are psychedelics a good treatment? 13:44-16:51: What is Idazoxan XR? 16:51-18:01: How do you make changes to drugs? 18:01-21:19: How did you develop your business model? 21:19-22:40: What are Eplivanserin and Volinanserin? 22:40-24:49: How useful are repurposed drugs? 24:49-29:06: Keeping drugs affordable 29:06-30:31: Dealing with patents 30:31-32:41: What are empathogens? 32:41-33:12: Where is the company at with clinical trials? 33:12-35:45: What is NM-101? 35:45-37:47: How does Terran differ from other companies? 37:47-39:54: Are you looking to cure conditions? 39:54-40:48: Schizophrenia Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Immunai is mapping the immune system at unprecedented scale and granularity. The map, paired with machine learning, looks at how the immune system will respond to drug targets, offering an affordable way to prevent expensive drug failures. The ultimate goal is to market immune treatments for diseases like cancer faster than ever before. In this week’s conversation, Noam Solomon, CEO and co-founder of Immunai, covers the data gap in drug discovery and how machine learning (ML) can solve it, how to de-risk early-stage drug discovery, predictions for AI, and more. 00:41-01:05: About Immunai 01:05-01:37: Why map the immune system? 01:37-02:36: Are you taking a step back to study the problem in order to move forward? 02:36-03:41: How difficult is it to map the immune system? 03:41-05:21: What is your AMICA platform? 05:21-07:16: Where does your data come from? 07:16-09:01: How do you account for differences between patients? 09:01-11:27: What are the biggest challenges to drug development? 11:27-13:59: How can AI improve drug development? 13:59-14:47: Will AI advances speed up drug development? 14:47-15:58: Is the use of AI applicable in all diseases and conditions? 15:58-17:40: What sets your approach apart from other companies using AI? 17:40-18:46: What partnerships does Immunai have? 18:46-20:16: What are pharma companies looking for from Immunai? 20:16-23:09: How can AI help with clinical trials? 23:09-24:24: Can AI help with preventative care? 24:24-26:22: Google Maps for the immune system 26:22-27:10: What will we see from AI in drug discovery in the short term? 27:10-27:58: What are the next steps for Immunai? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Tome Biosciences recently exited stealth mode with almost a quarter of a billion dollars in funding. The company has developed a new approach to gene editing, programmable genomic integration (PGI), which it says represents the final chapter in genomic medicines. We discussed the company’s formation and approach with the CEO and president of Tome, Rahul Kakkar. 00:45-04:30: About Tome Biosciences 04:30-05:37: Is there still a role for CRISPR-Cas9? 05:37-07:41: Raising funds for Tome 07:41-11:15: What are the benefits of PGI? 11:15-12:54: How do you find and change the genetic code? 12:54-15:04: What is the difference between integrase-mediated PGI and ligase-mediated PGI? 15:04-16:41: Are there dangers with these techniques? 16:41-17:30: Is the editing reversible? 17:30-20:11: What diseases or conditions will you be addressing? 20:11-21:38: Is success considered to be curing diseases? 21:38-25:16: How will you address costs and scalability? 25:16-29:03: Can you explain this being the final chapter in genomic medicine? 29:03-30:24: How will you fine tune these techniques? 30:24-31:24: What was the reason for the takeover of Replace Therapeutics? 31:24-32:26: What are the next steps? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

After decades of lagging nearly many other disease areas, neurology is finally seeing signs of significant innovation. One of the biggest reasons it’s trailed behind has been the difficulty in teasing out complex neurobiology – an understanding necessary to design novel medicines. Rapport Therapeutics is playing a significant role in turning the tide. Rapport creates precision neuromedicines that act only in the brain regions where disease originates, avoiding the side effects that affect many of today’s treatments. This week, we have a conversation with Rapport CEO Abe Ceesay, about the company’s transformational approach, and about what’s new in neuromedicine. 00:45-02:43: About Rapport 02:43-05:01: What attracted you to Rapport? 05:01-09:13: What are the issues in developing drugs in neuroscience? 09:13-12:09: What are the areas with unmet needs? 12:09-16:24: What are receptor-associated proteins? 16:24-19:25: How do you avoid side-effects? 19:25-20:35: Are other companies working in this space? 20:35-23:49: How do you approach designing treatments for different conditions? 23:49-26:10: Where is Rapport currently with clinical trials? 26:10-28:26: How do you define success in your trials? 28:26-30:27: Is your treatment used in conjunction with others? 30:27-32:45: How is your treatment administered? 32:45-36:10: Why is there increased interest in developing drugs for neurological disorders? 36:10-38:20: Looking to the future 38:20-40:44: What are the next steps for Rapport? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Artificial intelligence (AI) is certainly in the news constantly; however, it’s been used in drug discovery for some time. A new collaboration between artificial intelligence drug discovery company Insilico Medicine and University of Toronto biochemist and molecular geneticist Igor Stagljar will test AI-designed molecules against "undruggable" cancer targets. The research will test 15 to 20 undruggable targets - but are they undruggable? And how does AI work in the drug discovery process? This week, we have a conversation with Kyle Tretina, Alliance Manager of AI Platforms at Insilico Medicine, on a wide range of subjects including drug discovery, undruggable targets, the collaboration with the University of Toronto, and more. 00:58-05:11: About Insilico Medicine 05:11-06:09: Why is AI in the news? 06:09-07:39: Helping people through AI 07:39-09:10: What is Insilico Medicine doing with AI? 09:10-10:15: Does Insilico Medicine take drugs from idea to trials? 10:15-11:32: How do your partnerships come about? 11:32-19:34: How does drug development start with AI? 19:34-24:43: Can AI address undruggable targets? 24:43-25:05: What do you need to do after finding a potential drug? 25:05-27:57: Can quantum computing aid drug development? 27:57-30:13: How can AI help reduce costs and save time? 30:13-32:56: What is your partnership with the University of Toronto? 32:56-36:24: What is the timescale for introducing drugs from AI? 36:24-37:29: What conditions are you working on? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

This week on the podcast, we have a conversation with Fran Gregory, vice president of Emerging Therapies at Cardinal Health. The discussion covers the company’s role in healthcare, biosimilars, the latest in cell and gene therapies, and what’s new at Advanced Therapies Week. 00:40-02:30: About Cardinal Health 02:30-05:12: What is Cardinal Health’s role in industry? 05:12-06:11: What are the challenges of logistics? 06:11-07:20: How important is innovation to Cardinal Health? 07:20-12:26: How can Cardinal Health help to reduce costs? 12:26-13:08: Keeping up with global healthcare 13:08-19:46: How do you stay in touch with what’s new in drug discovery? 19:46-22:07: Biosimilars Report 22:07-27:15: What is the current state of the cell and gene therapy space? 27:15-29:57: Are there interesting recent advances in the cell and gene therapy? 29:57-33:38: Advanced Therapies Week 33:38-36:40: What trends are you expecting in 2024? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

BioSenic, a Belgian clinical-stage company specializing in serious autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and cell therapy, will share data on its late-clinical asset JTA-004 at the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) World Congress 2024 in Vienna, Austria. The post hoc analysis of a phase 3 study found that a single injection of JTA-004 was safe and efficacious for patients with a newly characterized severe inflammatory subtype of knee osteoarthritis (OA). This week on the podcast, we talk about the treatment with BioSenic chief scientific officer and chief operating officer, Dr Carole Nicco. 00:52-03:19: About BioSenic 03:19-07:34: What is osteoarthritis? 07:34-11:45: What is ALLOB? 11:45-15:03: What is JTA-004? 15:04-17:14: What will you be presenting at the OARSI event? 17:14-20:20: How useful is attending events for BioSenic? 20:20-21:04: How often will JTA-004 need to be administered? 21:04-24:08: Are other companies working on osteoarthritis? 24:08-26:26: What stage are your arsenic trioxide trails at? 26:26-29:50: Will this be useful in treating other autoimmune diseases? 29:50-31:08: What are the next steps? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Freya Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotech company dedicated to reimagining women's health and redefining fertility for those previously deprived of options. With a focus on microbial immunotherapies, Freya addresses immune drivers underlying a range of reproductive health conditions. The company recently received $38 million Series A financing to advance the clinical development of its lead drug candidate, an investigational vaginal microbial immunotherapeutic. The treatment is to address infertility in women with dysbiotic vaginal microbiota who are undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART). This week’s conversation is with Freya chief science officer and co-founder Johan van Hylckama Vlieg. 00:58-01:55: About Freya Biosciences 01:55-07:12: What is the vaginal microbiome? 07:12-08:11: Are there differences between individuals’ vaginal microbiomes? 08:11-10:20: Does this make treatments challenging? 10:20-15:33: How does your platform use immunotherapy on the microbiome? 15:33-16:51: How does the vaginal microbiome change following treatment? 16:51-18:14: What happens to the vaginal microbiome of unsuccessful treatments? 18:14-20:10: How is success measured? 20:10-21:51: Could this lead to treatments of other conditions? 21:51-22:51: Does the vaginal microbiome change during menopause? 22:51-25:05: What are your clinical trials? 25:05-26:25: Does your treatment work better in combination with others? 26:25-27:36: Is it easy to find patients for trials? 27:36-30:14: How are the treatments manufactured? 30:14-31:55: How important is your recent funding? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Epic Bio is an epigenetic editing company, leveraging the power of CRISPR without cutting DNA. The company’s proprietary Gene Expression Modulation System (GEMS) includes the smallest Cas protein known to work in human cells, enabling in vivo or ex vivo delivery via a single viral vector. This week, we discuss epigenetic editing, why it’s reversible, and how it can treat FSHD and other conditions, with Epic Bio’s founder, Dr Stanley Qi, one of the original inventors of CRISPR. 01:15-02:51: Dr Xi’s background 02:51-05:11: The beginning of Epic Bio 05:12-09:23: What is epigenetic editing? 09:23-10:47: What is the Gene Expression Modulation System? 10:47-12:47: How is the editing reversible? 12:47-18:01: How will epigenetic editing advance treatments? 18:01-21:24: Tackling multiple conditions 21:24-22:46: How will your platform tackle FSHD? 22:46-24:18: FSHD clinical trial 24:18-25:51: How will you address costs? 25:51-27:18: Are other companies working on epigenetics? 27:18-29:27: What else is in the pipeline? 29:27-31:58: What are the next steps? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

A US company, with its origins in South Korea, is using natural killer (NK) cells to treat Alzheimer’s disease, with remarkable results. This week, we have a conversation with Dr Paul Song, CEO of NKGen Biotech, a company with its sights set on changing the Alzheimer’s treatment landscape. 00:58-02:55: About NKGen Biotech 02:56-05:39: Why is Alzheimer’s so challenging to treat? 05:39-07:28: Are there other treatments making a difference? 07:28-13:47: What is NKGen Biotech’s approach to treating Alzheimer’s? 13:47-15:38: Can you treat multiple conditions at the same time? 15:38-15:55: Are there any side effects? 15:55-16:33: What dose are you able to give? 16:33-18:31: How can you keep the cost of treatments low? 18:31-19:19: How, and how often, will it be administered? 19:19-20:49: How are you approaching taking on later stage Alzheimer’s? 20:49-22:21: Are you looking to cure Alzheimer’s? 22:21-23:50: Can this approach be used for other diseases? 23:50-24:47: Are you looking for partnerships? 24:47-25:47: What stage are your trials at? 25:47-26-19: What are the next steps for NKGen Biotech? 26:19-26:35: How are you enrolling patients? 26:35-27:32: What is your approximate timeline? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Eligo Bioscience is a gene-editing company focused on addressing diseases driven by the expression of bacterial genes from the microbiome. Its first target is moderate to severe acne vulgaris, an inflammatory disease that affects about 3% of the global population. This week, we talk to Xavier Duportet, CEO of Eligo Bioscience, as the company looks to head to the clinic with its acne vulgaris treatment. 00:53-02:42: About Eligo Bioscience 02:42-06:07: How are you creating a new class of transformative genetic medicine? 06:08-10:07: How important is the microbiome? 10:07-11:48: How do you account for differences in the microbiome? 11:48-13:17: What conditions are you looking to treat? 13:17-18:42: What is your EB005 platform? 18:42-21:28: How will your acne treatment be administered? 21:28-22:06: How will Eligo keep the cost of the acne treatment low? 22:06-24:36: Will your platform be applicable to other diseases? 24:36-25:52: Will a combination of treatments of the microbiome make a difference? 25:52-28:14: What will the recent funding mean to Eligo Bioscience? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Vaxxinity, Inc. is a U.S.-based biotechnology company looking to develop vaccines for several hard-to-treat diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The company is pioneering a new class of medicines through its proprietary technology platform, which has enabled the innovation of novel synthetic peptide immunotherapy candidates to bring the efficiency of vaccines to the treatment of chronic diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, migraine, and hypercholesterolemia. In this week’s podcast, the company’s CEO, Mei Mei Hu, tells us about its work, and the aim of democratizing healthcare across the globe. 01:00-02:21: About Vaxxinity 02:21-03:39: How does Vaxxinity’s approach differ from other companies? 03:39-04:38: How important is being able to roll out products globally? 04:38-06:28: What is your new class of vaccines? 06:28-08:58: How are you tackling diseases that are difficult to treat? 08:58-10:10: How does your Vaxxine Platform work? 10:10-10:58: Do synthetic peptides make this more scalable? 10:58-12:02: How are you addressing safety? 12:02-13:03: What has the reaction been like to your company? 13:03-14:14: What diseases are you tackling? 14:14-15:40: What is your pipeline for taking on these conditions? 15:40-16:16: Do you vaccines need booster shots? 16:16-18:17: Are you looking to cure diseases? 18:17-20:02: Could your approach be applied to other diseases? 20:02-20:29: Are you looking to partnerships? 20:29-21:10: What are the next steps? 21:10-21:24: When do you expect to see data? 21:24-21:42: When do you hope to have products being delivered to patients? 21:42-24:37: How does your COVID vaccine differ from others? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Is there a connection between worms being eradicated from the gut in the early 20th Century and an increase in allergies and autoimmune disease? This week, we have a conversation with Holoclara CEO Andrea Choe, who not only believes there is a connection, but also sees secretions from worms as a way to tackle such diseases. 01:31-06:05: About Holoclara 06:06-08:26: From discovery to setting up a company 08:26-10:40: Was this a symbiotic relationship? 10:40-12:30: As we are losing species for a variety of reasons, are there other species that may also be beneficial? 12:30-14:03: What are roundworms secreting? 14:03-15:28: How do you take these secretions and advance that to creating a drug? 15:28-15:44: Do you need the worms to make your product? 15:44-16:02: What conditions are you looking to address? 16:02-16:43: Are you looking to cures or disease maintenance? 16:43-16:58: How far down the path are you with this? 16:58-17:26: How important are partnerships and investment? 17:26-18:12: What is reaction like to the concept of using worms to tackle diseases? 18:12-19:25: What are the next steps? 19:25-20:44: Are there other cures to be discovered from other species? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Jennifer Schranz is senior vice president and global head of rare diseases in the R&D division at Ipsen. On the podcast this week, she discusses a breakthrough treatment for primary biliary cholerangitis and cholestatic liver disease. 00:56-00:49: Background information 01:44-03:21: What are primary biliary cholerangitis (PBC) and cholestatic liver disease? 03:21-03:50: How rare is PBC? 03:50-04:45: How easy is PBC diagnosis? 04:45-05:45: What are the current treatments for the condition? 05:45-07:22: What are the challenges to innovation? 07:22-08:27: What is elafibranor? 08:27-08:37: How is it administered? 08:37-09:18: Is elafibranor taken for life? 09:18-11:08: What is the ELATIVE trial, and what were the results you presented at the AASLD Liver Meeting? 11:08-13:09: What was the reaction at the meeting? 13:09-13:55: A patient-centric approach 13:55-14:44: Is a cure for PBC a possibility? 14:44-17:20: How important are acquisitions to Ipsen’s pipeline? 17:20-18:33: Working on multiple diseases 18:33-19:58: How much impact can you have on liver diseases? 19:58-21:04: What are the next steps for elafibranor? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter