Empowered Patient Podcast

Dr. Steffen-Sebastian Bolz, Chief Scientific Officer of Swiss-based Aphaia Pharma, shines a light on the excitement around weight loss drugs due to the discovery that GLP-1 agonists and points out the shift in the perception of obesity as a root cause of various health issues. Aphaia Pharma's approach involves stimulating hormone production in the small intestine by reinvigorating the mechanism that has become dormant due to the ingestion of highly refined foods. The company is also exploring the effects of the circadian rhythm on weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight.   Steffen elaborates, "What is understood now is obesity is the root cause of many sequel pathologies like type 2 diabetes, diabetes, fatty liver disease, and a whole lot of cardiovascular disease. So, the idea is that if we get obesity under control and the obesity pandemic under control, we might also lower the incidence of all the other diseases. There’s a massive rush into this field because there are already blockbuster drugs in th

Rick Vanzura, CEO of Freight Farms, and Dr. Amber Orman, Chief Wellness Officer at Advent Health, discuss their partnership in bringing hyperlocal, sustainable food to healthcare facilities. Freight Farms uses modified shipping containers to grow crops, allowing for year-round production with minimal land and water usage. Advent Health recognized the importance of nutrition in whole-person care and saw the opportunity to provide their team members, physicians, patients, and the public with fresh, nutritious food and donate to local food pantries. The partnership has demonstrated the power of food as medicine and the potential for sustainable farming practices in healthcare settings.   Rick explains, "We grow about two and a half to three acres worth of crops out of an 8 by 40-foot shipping container. It looks like any shipping container you would see on a dock or a boat, but it's highly modified to grow food using LED lights, airflow, nutrients delivered through the farm, and controlled through software. It

Guang Qu, Co-Founder of NGGT Corporation is focused on developing gene therapy products using dual functional vector strategies. Guang highlights the importance of distinguishing between recessive and dominant mutations in rare diseases and explains how their approach differs from other gene therapy approaches. The two leading indications caused by a gene mutation that NGGT is working on are Bietti's Crystalline Dystrophy (BCD), a rare ocular disease, and phenylketonuria (PKU), a metabolic disease.   Guang explains, "For our strategies and our product development strategies, I think we are leveraging our experience in the gene therapy field. Later, I will talk more about myself, Dr. Lixin Jiang, and our team. The other thing we are leveraging is our fully integrated team in gene therapy product development, which involves R&D, research and development, CGMP manufacturers, from tox development and clinical regulatory functions and the medical teams. So with all of the teams we built up in the last couple o

Jennifer Jones-McMeans, divisional vice president of global clinical affairs at Abbott’s vascular business, and Dr. Brian DeRubertis, a doctor at the New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, shine a light on peripheral artery disease and critical limb-threatening ischemia where artery blockage restricts blood flow to the lower legs. Abbott has developed the Esprit, a dissolving scaffold that opens up the artery in the blocked area and elutes a drug that slows disease progression. Their LIFE-BTK trial demonstrated success in a diverse patient population and is a significant new treatment option for CLTI.  Brian explains, "One of the things that I’ll say is our group is starting to explore doing additional efforts at patient education with our own patients, patients who have actually been diagnosed with this disease, and educating them a little bit more about what it means to have this disease, how they can be involved in the process of trying to prevent their disease from getting worse. And the rea

Marcio Souza, President and CEO of Praxis Precision Medicines, discusses the challenges in treating central nervous system disorders and is focused on developing life-altering treatments for patients with essential tremor.  Current treatments for epilepsy are often broad-based and not specific to the underlying cause of the disease. Praxis is using insights about genetic epilepsy to understand the underlying imbalances in the brain and develop a precision medicine approach to improve movement disorders.   Marcio explains, "For example, we have four clinical programs right now, four different molecules in the clinic, and many more to come in the future, but four at this given point in time. And one of them is for a very common movement disorder called the essential tremor, which is very common, about 2% of the US population develop this condition. And there is no real understanding of where it comes from. Incredibly debilitating for all the people living with essential tremor. But when you take a step back,

Dr. John Blair, CEO of MedAllies, was created to address the lack of communication and coordination between healthcare providers and the importance of interoperability in healthcare. While healthcare has become more complicated over the years, with advancements in technology and automation, the lack of reimbursement for coordination of care has contributed to the problem of lack of interoperability. There are incentives and penalties associated with interoperability, including information blocking and the Trust Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) initiative, which aims to standardize interoperability platforms and reduce barriers to entry for healthcare organizations. John explains, "But if you look at hospitals, you've got about 70% of the hospitals in the country connected to a national network. That means there's 30% that are not. And then, if you start to break that down and look at rural areas versus urban, there's a big disconnect. These smaller rural hospitals tend to be far less connected

Dave Mehalick, Chairman, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Coeptis Therapeutics, focuses on developing cell therapies for oncology and respiratory diseases. They aim to create a universal cell therapy that can be used for various types of cancer and move it from a later line of treatment to a frontline therapy. The company has developed a unique CAR therapy called SNAP-CAR, which utilizes off-the-shelf cells and a targeting mechanism to attack cancer cells at different points, making it difficult for the cells to mutate and evade treatment. Coeptis is conducting clinical trials using its cell generation platform, including a trial for COVID-19 patients and a trial for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients. Dave explains, "Coeptis is a cell therapy company mainly focused on oncology, although we have recently broadened into respiratory disease. And really, the prime mission of the company would be to what we would term universalized cell therapy to make it available for the

Ross Bundy, President and CEO of CRISPR QC, shines a light on the current state of CRISPR gene editing technology and how the field has advanced rapidly since the discovery of CRISPR's potential to edit the human genome. The focus of CRISPR technology has primarily been on curing rare and genetic diseases, but there is also potential for targeting cancer tumors' resistance to chemotherapy and the development of customized therapies for various indications. The services offered by CRISPR QC include a unique sensor platform and data analytics capability to monitor and control the gene editing process. The company aims to create a database of information to improve the understanding and control of CRISPR chemistry. The CRISPR Chip is a new semiconductor technology that integrates carbon electronics to analyze complex biological processes. Ross explains, "What we find is that it can be very difficult to get that chemistry to target exactly in the right place. We don’t know yet how much the right amount is. Is i

Nicolas Poirier, CEO of OSE Immunotherapeutics, uses immunology and molecular engineering to develop innovative immunotherapies for oncology, inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and organ transplant.  The same immune cells, lymphocytes and macrophages, are involved in both immuno-oncology and immuno-inflammation, and OSE aims to re-educate these cells to recognize and eliminate cancer cells or restore immune tolerance in autoimmune diseases. He also discusses the potential of cancer vaccines in re-educating the immune system to target cancer cells, and the importance of combination therapies in improving treatment outcomes. Nicolas explains, "There are two big families in the immune system. We have the adaptive immunity generated by lymphocytes. We have several types of lymphocytes: T-lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes, and so on. This is a very specific immune response that humans and other species have developed to recognize, very specifically some antigens from viruses, for tumors, and so on. We can control these

Ben Casavant, Co-Founder and CEO of Tasso, focuses on making diagnostics more accessible to patients that allow collection of blood samples at home. Their customers include pharmaceutical companies conducting research and healthcare providers. Using Tasso's technology in decentralized clinical trials allows for easier recruitment, increased patient participation, and more data collection. The simplicity and ease of use of Tasso's blood collection device have resulted in positive patient responses and improved retention rates in clinical trials. They offer liquid and dried blood collection options to accommodate different lab processes and sample types.   Ben explains, "When we think about the customer bases we're serving, we're working with many different pharmaceutical companies conducting critical and life-changing research. We just announced a partnership with the Parkinson's Foundation so they can help find ways to gather information and data about patients living with Parkinson's disease. But they need

Chris Darland, President and CEO of Peerbridge Health, discusses technology breakthroughs that enable early, low-cost detection of heart issues with a cardiac monitor that uses AI to analyze heart rhythms over time to detect patterns that may indicate heart failure. The device is based on ECG technology that drives the Holter monitor and delivers a full 12-lead ECG with a volumetric 3D view of the heart. The goal is to reach more patients who may not proactively seek medical attention and provide early intervention and treatment.  Chris explains, " I think the problem with the current state is largely that it's too late. And I say that to mean that 80% of all heart failure cases today are getting caught after an emergency room visit. So, it's not necessarily that we don't have the tools to find heart failure and the cardiologists and expertise to identify it, but we're not getting it in time. So if you are one of those patients who, let's say, are caught earlier or maybe unfortunately when you come through

Dr. David Stein, CEO and Director of Babson Diagnostics, a healthcare technology company that focuses on putting the patient at the center of the blood testing experience, recognizing the importance of blood testing in informing clinical decisions and monitoring health. They aim to redefine blood testing by eliminating the anxiety and inconvenience associated with traditional blood testing methods by offering a more accessible and convenient approach. Blood samples are collected with an innovative device from the patient's fingertip at retail pharmacy locations, and patients use a digital app and QR code system to order and track tests and receive test results. David explains, "Babson Diagnostics is a science-first healthcare technology company that has reimagined the end-to-end blood testing experience. In that experience, the patient and customer are the strong focus. We've all experienced times when we've had a blood test ordered for us, and we’ve felt anxious. We've tried, as much as we can, to eliminate

Joan Butters, CEO and Co-Founder of Xsolis works with health systems and health plans to automate medical necessity decisions and improve efficiency. Using data and AI, Xsolis helps clinicians make more informed decisions and reduces manual administrative work, resulting in time and cost savings and improved patient care. Addressing the challenges and pushback faced when introducing AI into healthcare, Joan emphasizes the importance of understanding the limitations and complexities of generative AI and the need for subject matter expertise in developing prompts to properly address friction points between providers and payers in the healthcare environment. Joan explains, "More important to this audience are the administrative aspects and the impact of that back and forth on the cost of healthcare. We were very fortunate that we found a niche in what we were trying to solve for. Again, that was the medical necessity decision whether a patient required hospital-based care. And then, with that laser focus, we d

Sanjeev Redkar, Co-Founder, Executive Director, and President of Apollomics, focuses on difficult-to-treat cancers, such as lung cancer, brain cancer, and leukemias, not served by immune checkpoint inhibitors. Their approach targets the thematic pathway in cancer cells responsible for their growth and proliferation. In their drug development, AI and data analysis drive precision-targeted therapies based on tumor molecular profiling. They are developing the drugs Vebreltinib and Uproleselan, which can be used as standalone treatments or in combination with other therapies to treat rare cancers. Sanjeev explains, "There's a pathway that is very important for the growth of cancer cells. This is proliferation, motility, migration, and invasion of cancer cells, and that's the thematic pathway. This is an important receptor, which is upstream in cell signaling of these cancer cells. This is when these pathways work well, these cells grow as normal homeostasis, normal growth of cells. When this pathway is disrupted

Kristen Helton, CEO and Co-Founder of Herself Health, provides comprehensive primary care designed specifically for women over 65, considering the unique health challenges these women face. The emphasis is on the importance of addressing women's health beyond reproductive health and the need for tailored treatment and screening for conditions that affect women differently than men. Kristen notes the underrepresentation of women, especially older women, in clinical trials and the need for further investigation. They aim to reduce bias and improve the quality of care for older women by adopting a person-centric approach, listening to patients' concerns, and building trust. Kristen explains, "Almost half of the burdens of disease that women experience stem from conditions that affect women differently than men. So, a lot of these diseases, cardiovascular, chronic illness, gastroenterology, and depression, affect men differently than they affect women. We're very focused on how we treat women and screen them for

Robert Towarnicki, CEO and Co-founder of SIRPant Immunotherapeutics, discusses cancer-specific immunotherapy for aggressive tumors, the role macrophages play in the immune response to cancer, and how cancer cells can shut down this response. SIRPant Immunotherapeutics aims to modify macrophages by reducing SIRPα expression, triggering them to eat cancer cells and educate other immune cells. Early evidence demonstrates potential effectiveness for various cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and solid tumors. Robert emphasizes this therapy's scalability and cost advantages compared to other cell therapies like CAR-T. He also highlights the potential for treating rare diseases and the ability of SIRPant-M to target a wide range of cancers without the need for pre-identified targets. Robert explains, "Macrophages are a normal immune cell type in your body. They normally function to recognize foreign invaders and process them in the sense of phagocytizing or eating the foreign protein and invader, if it's a

Jeff Surges, CEO of RLDatix, offers global cloud-based solutions for risk management, compliance management, and regulatory management in healthcare. To address patient safety, Jeff emphasizes the need for a collaborative workforce, data analytics, and AI. RLDatix uses technology to automate information gathering, facilitate incident reporting, and analyze data to determine proactive actions to prevent incidents and improve safety.  Jeff explains, "The simplest analogy when I get asked this is: how does this relate to other industries? We all fly in airplanes, and we've seen in the airline industry most recently with doors coming off, the emergency exit doors, close calls, or what we'll call incidents where you need to look at the root cause. The key difference is if a plane goes down, as tragic as that is, the pilots and the crew go down. But in healthcare, if there's an incident or a procedure or an event that has occurred, it's likely only affecting the patient and the patient's family. That's not meant to

Lou Lintereur, Chief Engineer for automated delivery systems at Medtronic Diabetes, brought his knowledge from working as an aerospace engineer at NASA  to developing technology for those living with diabetes.  He introduces the MiniMed 780G, a closed-loop system that combines an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor (CGM) with a control algorithm that tailors itself to each patient's unique physiology and Meal Detection technology, which helps manage their blood sugar levels. Patient feedback is essential to the continuing innovation of these hybrid closed-loop tools to manage diabetes. Lou explains, "There are two main challenges we're always trying to deal with, and they kind of compete with each other. One is just the fundamental technology, trying to get the best therapy for the patients and the best outcomes for a long, healthy life where they're feeling good. With respect to diabetes, it's about keeping your blood sugar under as tight a control as possible within a normal glucose range. So that p

Mark Galvin, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of TALON, discusses the Transparency in Coverage rule in healthcare, which was added to the Affordable Care Act and requires commercial health plan sponsors to provide transparency in the costs of tests, procedures, and other medical services. The rule aims to provide patients with information on pricing and out-of-pocket costs before committing to services. The lack of awareness and understanding of the rule is in part due to the vested interests of certain stakeholders, such as insurance carriers, who are financially conflicted in driving down the cost of medical claims. Mark explains, "I'm known as a disruptive innovator, as a serial startup guy. The Transparency in Coverage rule is a rule that was added to the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, requiring that commercial health plan sponsors predominantly the employers that pay for the lion's share of commercial health plans are required now under that law with the new rule to provide to million members an abil

Alice Lin, DCT Solutions Director in the DCT Business Department of Tigermed Consulting, a global CRO, contract research organization, that provides biopharmaceutical and medical device companies with a range of services including digital technology to conduct decentralized clinical trials. Their approach focuses on patient-centricity, efficiency, and adaptability. By utilizing digital tools such as virtual visits, wearable devices, and mobile apps, Tigermed aims to make clinical trials more accessible and convenient for patients, improving recruitment and retention rates. They also emphasize the importance of DCT in including a diverse patient population in trials, particularly for rare diseases. Alice explains, "While our headquarters is in China, we have grown into a global team of over 10,000 employees operating across over 180 locations worldwide. We recently celebrated our 20th anniversary, making two decades of dedicated collaborations with over 2,800 customers on their product journeys. DCT stands f