Empowered Patient Podcast

Brad Younggren MD, Chief Medical Officer, 98point6 talks about what happens when a company fundamentally changes the way patients interact with doctors by providing 24/7 on-line access to medical professionals aided by the camera and attachments on mobile devices to further inform the diagnosis and treatment plan.  With enthusiastic support from traditional primary care doctors, this new model of on-demand care is showing effectiveness for addressing emergency as well as chronic conditions. @98point6inc 98point6.com Download the transcript here

Usama Malik, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer, Immunomedics discusses the challenges of developing effective medicines for people with triple negative breast cancer as well as Immunomedics' development of antibody-drug conjugates, directed therapies which have potential to provide new options for those with hard to treat cancers. @immunomedicsinc #breastcancer  #TNBC  #HER2  #TripleNegative  #bladdercancer  #urothelial Immunomedics.com Download the transcript here

Dr. Asher Nathan, CEO of NeoTX talks about the company's work developing immunotherapies for a wide range of solid tumors using their proprietary Selective T Cell Redirection (STR) platform.  This technology enables therapies that bind a genetically engineered super antigen to the tumor surface which trigger a native, controlled immune response that can kill the cancer with potentially fewer side effects than currently available therapies.  Asher discusses the company's lead STR molecule, NAP, which is being developed to treat advanced cancers.  NAP, which has potential as both a monotherapy and in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, is currently in a Phase 1B clinical trial in collaboration with AstraZeneca. #immunotherapy  #immunotherapies  #AntiCancer  #SolidTumors  #Tcell  #Antigen  #Cancer  #Monotherapy  #Checkpointinhibitors  #Immunomodulators  NeoTX.com Download the transcript here

Dr. Nader Pourhassan, is Director, President, and CEO, CytoDyn, a late-stage biotechnology company developing leronlimab (PRO 140), a targeted therapy with the potential to treat multiple diseases.  Nader highlights CytoDyn's ongoing clinical trial evaluating leronlimab for metastatic triple negative breast cancer (mTNBC) and the company's plans to submit a Biologics License Agreement (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for leronlimab in combination with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to treat patients suffering from HIV. @CytoDyn #HIV  #mTNBC  #TNBC  #Leronlimab CytoDyn.com Download the transcript here  

Janet Lee is a patient advocate for those suffering from Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) and is on a mission to educate healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers about the delayed manifestations of this disease.  This is also a story about a mother who was not vaccinated for Rubella and who gave birth to Janet who was born with extreme hearing loss and suffers from other complications from CRS.  Thanks to her mother's intensive training and love, Janet learned to read lips was able to communicate with me on Skype to allow us to record this podcast. Search on Facebook for CRS (Congenital Rubella Syndrome) for an invitation to join Janet's private group. Read the transcript here  

Dr. Rob Mordkin is Chief Medical Officer for LetsGetChecked.com and Chief of Urology at the Virginia Hospital Center.  We talk about his strong belief in giving individuals access to in-home health testing to allow them to check on warning signs, confirm findings of other lab tests, and provide on-going monitoring of chronic conditions.  With or without a primary care doctor, patients can order tests, have results reviewed by a physician, discuss findings with a nurse, and if necessary, receive a prescription. @LetsGetChecked LetsGetChecked.com Read the transcript here

Mike Wenger, Vice President of Patient Engagement, TrialScope is thinking about ways to improve the clinical trials process by focusing more on the patients that are being recruited, tracked and retained.  We talk about the need to overcome challenges of enrollment, helping patients find the right clinical trial, and reducing the costs related to the time-consuming process of conducting clinical trials. @TrialScope TrialScope.com Read the transcript here

Anish Suri, President and Chief Scientific Officer, Cue Biopharma discusses their proprietary Immuno-STAT(tm)  platform. Cue Biopharma is engineering a novel class of injectable biologics to selectively engage and modulate targeted T cells within the body to transform the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases.  The company's proprietary platform Immuno-STAT(tm) (Selective Targeting and Alteration of T cells) is designed to harness the body's intrinsic immune system without the need for ex vivo manipulation.  The company is currently conducting a Phase 1 study in HPV16-driven head and neck cancer and partnering with Merck to develop treatments for autoimmune diseases. @CueBiopharma #immunooncology  #HNSCC  #TCells CueBiopharma.com Download the transcript here  

Dr. Igor Grant, Director, Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California San Diego talks about the need for basic science studies on new indications and promises of cannabinoids, potential medical effects of both THC and CBD, the uptick in funding for clinical studies, relative safety of cannabis compared to other drugs, and which diseases and chronic conditions are currently being effectively treated with some form of cannabis. CMCR.UCSD.edu Download the transcript here

Dr. Mark Scholz, author and medical oncologist specializes in prostate cancer and he is determined to change the way the most common cancer in men is being diagnosed and treated.  Currently, prostate cancer is the only cancer treatment managed by a surgeon and not an oncologist, reflecting the days when the only answer was for the urologist to operate.  Publishing a self-administered test and providing information about alternative treatments and side-effects, Mark is eager to change the way patients and doctors attack this disease. #prostatecancer  #cancer  #oncology ProstateOncology.com PCRI.org Download the transcript here

Dr. Andrea Trescot, Chief Medical Officer, Stimwave has focused on pain for many years and she shares her passion for the latest innovations in stimulating the spinal column to provide a rapid treatment for chronic pain and provide an effective alternative to opioids.  With innovations in miniaturization, batteries, and wireless interfaces, Stimwave is expanding the pain targets to include peripheral nerve stimulation to address such conditions as osteoarthritis of the knee and chronic facial pain.  @ stimwave #neurostimulation  #neuromodulation  #ChronicPain  #opioids Stimwave.com Download the transcript here  

Dr. Guy Chamberland, CEO, Tetra Bio-Pharma discusses why Tetra is focusing on developing cannabinoid-based therapies to help relieve chronic and breakthrough pain in patients with advanced cancers.  He also speaks to how important it is to shorten the time to pain relief for those who are suffering.  In the current climate of opioid abuse, Tetra is looking to help both doctors and patients with new options for their candidate therapies. @TetraBioPharma #cannabinoid  #biopharma  #advancedcancer  #breakthroughpain Tetra Bio-Pharma Download the transcript here

Dale Gieringer, Director, California NORML talks about some of the many reasons there has not been more research done on the uses for cannabis to treat a wide variety of diseases and chronic conditions.  We met at the recent 2nd Annual Cannabis and Health Symposium a gathering of researchers and other stakeholders presenting on basic and clinical science discovery and therapeutics.  With many years in the fight to better understand the active elements of cannabis, Dale also reminds us of the value of anecdotal evidence and the history of work in this field. @CaliforniaNORML CaNORML.org    Download the transcript here.

Jenna Balestrini is Head of Cell Bioprocessing and Precision Medicine at Draper, the not-for-profit MIT spin-off engineering lab.  Working with scientists and engineers, Jenna describes their efforts addressing the time and costs related to immunotherapy treatments by looking at manufacturing limitations, applying new engineering physics to speed up the process, and utilizing machine learning and AI to improve current cell therapy platforms and to build platforms for next generation cell therapies. @draperlab #precisionmedicine Draper.com Download the transcript here.

Dr. Uchenna Umeh, pediatrician and CEO Teen Alive talks about the challenges of talking with teens about depression and suicidal thoughts, ways in which parents, teachers and friends can help teens express their pain and frustrations in positive ways, and warning signs of suicide in teens as well as adults.  On a positive note, Dr. Umeh believes suicide is 100% preventable. @uchennaumeh9 TeenAlive.com Download the transcript here

Thomas Lingelbach, CEO, Valneva talks about their work developing and commercializing vaccines for infectious diseases with unmet needs.  This biotech company is in development of a Lyme disease vaccine and vaccines for mosquito-borne illnesses such as Zika and chikungunya. Thomas talks about the challenges of testing vaccines to prevent a disease within a healthy population and why it is impossible to eliminate all the vectors that can transmit a disease. @ValnevaSE #Lyme #LymeDisease  #chikungunya Valneva.com Download the transcript here Additional links: Chikungunya Fact Sheet Lyme Fact Sheet World Health Organization Zika virus resources World Health Organization Japanese encephalitis resources    

Maria Picone, Co-Founder and CEO, TREND Community was inspired to start TREND because her daughter was suffering from the rare disease Prader-Willi syndrome.  She realized there was a big gap between what doctors were telling her and what was being written about in literature and on social media.  She decided to tap into the wisdom of caregivers to grow the knowledge base about this and other rare diseases to uncover unrecognized aspects of symptoms and develop new treatment options. @trendcommunity TREND.community Download the transcript here

Dr. Barry Rose, orthopedic surgeon and Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation has many years of experience treating patients who come to him to fix a problem.  Barry talks about how it is essential for doctors to look at the whole patient and treat their pain in a way that works for each individual person and addresses fear.  He is also very enthusiastic about Western medical practitioners becoming more aware of Eastern modalities to help people reduce their stress. Author of The Cutting Edge of Compassion: How Physicians, Health Professionals and Patients Can Build Healing Relationships Based on Trust @drbarryrose DrBarryRose.com Download the transcript here

Dr. Ralph Kern, Chief Medical Officer, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics talks about their late stage clinical programs in treating ALS and MS using stem cells derived from bone marrow as well as the promise of using their technology platform to manufacture the cells to develop therapies for other neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's Disease and autism. While not a cure, this therapy using repair molecules is focused on stabilizing and preventing further deterioration. #BrainStormALS #BCLI  #ALS  #EndALS BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Download the transcript here

Lincoln Nguyen, CEO, Karuna Labs discusses their work in pain management using virtual reality to build immersive environments to aid in retraining the brain to overcome learned pain behaviors.  Of particular concern is the fear of movement of those suffering from chronic pain and addressing real dangers for additional injury and those that are threat signals from the brain related to the original cause of the pain.  Since opioids have not proven to help chronic pain long term, innovations with VR are showing exciting real relief. #VR Karuna Labs Download the transcript of the interview here