Health Professional Radio - Podcast

Dr. Lynda Szczech, VP of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at FibroGen discusses new data presented at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined on roxadustat, the company's investigational first-in-class oral treatment for anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). These data will build upon roxadustat’s well-defined efficacy and safety profile. If approved in December 2020, roxadustat will be the first new anemia treatment option for CKD patients in about 30 years. Its oral formulation could make anemia management more convenient for patients and limit time spent in transfusion facilities, an especially important consideration during flu season and the COVID-19 pandemic. Lynda Szczech is Vice President of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at FibroGen. As a nephrologist with over 25 years of clinical and research experience, she has more than 160 peer-reviewed publications, having studied many of the issues involved with anemia and cardiovascular disease

Dr. Michelle Goveia, MD, Executive Director, Global Medical and Scientific Affairs at Merck Vaccines and Dr. Monica Mercer, MD, Senior Director, Scientific and Medical Affairs at Sanofi Pasteur, discuss new data presented at the IDWeek 2020 virtual meeting on physician and parental attitudes about the use of early-childhood combination vaccines and the potential implications for timely completion of the CDC recommended Child and Adolescent immunization schedule. Michelle Goveia, MD, MPH is an Executive Director in the Global Medical and Scientific Affairs department at Merck Vaccines. She joined Merck in 2002 supporting the clinical development and regulatory interactions for numerous vaccines including rotavirus, hepatitis A, and varicella-containing vaccines. She is currently responsible for leading the efforts to increase global access to Merck’s pediatric and hepatitis vaccines worldwide, which include managing vaccine-related scientific data and recommendations for rotavirus, MMR, varicella, hepatitis

Joseph Hernandez, Founder and CEO of Blue Water Vaccines discusses the company's development of a universal influenza vaccine. Current research and development of this vaccine show that two doses are needed to focus the immune response on the regions of limited variability, which could provide life-long protection against influenza strains for most patients in comparison to the current yearly vaccine that’s administered, which only help about 50% of those who get it.

Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, MD., Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Step One Foods™ discusses a new survey that shows cardiologists may be too quick to prescribe statin drugs to their patients rather than first addressing natural ways to control their cholesterol, such as changing their diet. Without discussing diet, clinicians often over-prescribe medications to patients who would be better suited for nutritional interventions or a combination of both. She also talks about why she decided to start her own business as a cardiologist. Elizabeth Klodas MD, FACC. Dr. Klodas has dedicated her career to preventive cardiology. Trained at Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins, she serves as the Chief Medical Officer for Step One Foods. Dr. Klodas is a nationally sought out speaker and has an active role at the American College of Cardiology. Her clinical interests include prevention of heart disease and non-invasive cardiac imaging and she has published dozens of scientific articles throughout her career. She has also author

A new nationwide survey finds that nearly two-thirds (61%) of Americans over age 65 who have concerns about having depression say they won’t seek treatment - with a third thinking they can just “snap out of it” on their own. Dr. Mark Pollack, past president of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and now Chief Medical Officer of Myriad Neuroscience discusses a way to provide timely and effective treatment with the GeneSight test that uses a patient's DNA to help their doctor make more informed recommendations. Mark Pollack, MD, leads Myriad Neuroscience’s work to make the GeneSight test standard-of-care in clinical practice. He is a board-certified psychiatrist with more than 30 years of experience in clinical psychiatry and neuroscience. He served as professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, and as a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He was director of the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders at Massachusetts

Jenny Paul, CEO of Intent Entertainment and Executive Producer/Creator/Actor of "Adulting with Jane" discusses a special mental health episode called "Don't Panic" in partnership with Talkspace and features best selling author and Behavioral Specialist Dr. Marcie Beigel.

Bob Hutchens, CEO of StemBioSys, Inc., developers of advanced stem cell technologies discusses research, which was recently published in peer-reviewed journal "Nature Scientific Reports" (Nov 2020), that demonstrates that CELLvo™ Matrix Plus, a jointly developed platform with Cartox, Inc., enables the widescale testing of experimental drugs via human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) and enables maturation in seven days compared to the current partial hiPSC-CM maturation within 30 to 100 days. Matrix Plus offers the potential to significantly reduce (and one day eliminate) the need to sacrifice animals for preclinical safety studies.

Dr. James (Jim) Woody, CEO of 180 Life Sciences Corp., a newly formed clinical-stage biotech company focused on novel drugs for unmet needs in inflammatory diseases, fibrosis, and pain, discusses three clinical programs using anti-TNF, with the lead program in Phase 2b/3 for Dupuytren's contracture, a fibrotic disease of the hand. He previously led the team responsible for developing Remicade, the first of the TNF inhibitor biologics.

Dr. Gail McIntyre, CEO of Aravive, Inc., discusses the urgent need for improved therapeutic approaches to treat patients with ovarian cancer who are resistant to standard of care therapy and have limited treatment options. She explains the challenges with current treatment therapies and talks about Aravive's lead product candidate, AVB-500, a unique and promising treatment approach for platinum resistant ovarian cancer.The company expects to initiate a pivotal trial during the first quarter of 2021.

Returning guest, Jon Friis, founder and CEO of MIIskin, the most popular consumer skin tracking platform in the world (500,000 users), and a partner of the Skin Cancer Foundation, discusses Miiskin Pro, the first telehealth solution (teledermatology) to streamline, for both the patient and the provider, the store-and-forward process of high-resolution images of the skin.

Returning guest, Dr. William Sandborn, MD, Chief of Gastroenterology, Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, discusses positive study results in Crohn's disease from the IM-UNITI trial on STELARA'S efficacy at five years and the TREMFYA GALAXI-1 trial, Phase 2, week 12 Interim Analyses Data. The GALAXI abstract has been recognized among the three highest scoring UEGW (United European Gastroenterology Week) 2020 abstracts in one of the main categories.

Dr. Diane Newman, urologic nurse practitioner from the University of Pennsylvania Penn Center for Continence and Pelvic Health, Division of Urology discusses overactive bladder, things that can be done to treat the condition and what medications are available.

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and Dr. Luis Raez, Chief Scientific Officer and Medical Director, Memorial Cancer Institute/Memorial Health Care System in Pembroke Pines, Florida, discusses a new blood test from Guardant Health that is the first FDA-approved comprehensive liquid biopsy. He talks about how it makes it easier to test lung cancer patients, and why comprehensive genomic profiling and biomarker testing is crucial for all cancer patients before starting treatment. He is joined by his patient Lynn Spadaccini who had learned she had stage 4 lung cancer and has benefitted from liquid biopsy and targeted treatment.

Returning guest, Dr. Gary Lelli, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical College discusses the first annual Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) Awareness Week (Nov 16 - 20, 2020) that aimed to advocate for awareness and education for this serious, progressive and vision-threatening rare autoimmune disease, which in certain cases, can lead to blindness. Throughout the week, patients and caregivers were invited to tune into"TED Today", a daily digital morning show hosted on the Listen To Your Eyes Facebook page featuring TED Specialists, patients and advocacy organizations to teach, inspire and create community among those living with or caring for someone tackling this rare disease. The five-episode series featured interviews from different TED perspectives, from patients and caregivers to ophthalmologists and mental health specialists.

Dr. Andrea Russo, MD, Director of Electrophysiology and Arrhythmia Services at Cooper University Hospital discusses the 50% decrease in in-person primary care visits, since COVID-19 according to a report from the IQVIA National Disease and Therapeutic Index. She talks about how this makes delays in the diagnosis of serious conditions like atrial fibrillation (AFib), deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and how important it is to get a proper diagnosis from a healthcare provider. There is a new campaign that seeks to bridge the gap in these critical diagnoses called "No Time To Wait"

Dr. Irina Anselm, MD, Director of the Mitochondrial Program and Co-Director of the Neurometabolic Program at Boston Children's Hospital discusses the ultra rare brain disorder of aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, the symptoms, and disease burden. Patients with severe AADC deficiency have a high risk of death during childhood and there are currently no approved therapies that address the underlying cause. She talks about her work with families coping with AADC and the importance of the AADC Awareness Day, October 23, that shares resources to help families who face this devastating disease. Massachusetts will be the first state to sign a proclamation to officially declare this as an awareness day.

Dr. LeRoy Graham, MD, Founder and Medical Director of Not One More Life Asthma Care Program discusses a new project to address health disparities among people of color. The Not One More LifeTrusted Messengers project, a partnership among the Allergy & Asthma Network, Self Care Catalysts and global pharmaceutical company Sanofi, aims to address the factors that make the burden of COVID-19 unequal and empower Black Americans with the information and tools they need to take charge of their respiratory health, including a 16-week digital personalized intervention program for high-risk individuals.

Pharmacologist and President of The People's Pharmacy, Joe Graedon, discusses Authorized Generics, what they are and the difference between Authorized Generics, generics, and brand name medications. He talks about who might benefit from and how to access Authorized Generics.

Dr. Harvey Kaufman, Senior Medical Director and head of the Health Trends™ Research Program at Quest Diagnostics discusses a recent study of the skyrocketing increase in the use of heroin and fentanyl as well as dangerous drug combining during the onset of the pandemic. He talks about how the decrease in urine drug testing at the onset of pandemic has contributed to the disturbing increase in addiction and fatal overdoses and what could be contributing to these trends, including the impact that the prolonged delay in elective care has had on the substance use disorders and recovery community.

Dr. Jarrod Bailey, Director of Science and Technology at the Center for Contemporary Sciences discusses a new peer-reviewed report in "BMJ - Open Science" that illustrates the exaggerated results of biomedical studies using animals.The report looked at 27 examples of animal research that were highly publicized in the UK national media in 1995, and which were claimed to provide a “breakthrough” for human health. Each study was followed up more than 20 years later to determine if any actual human benefit had transpired. Only 1 out of the 27 animal studies reviewed for the report resulted in actual benefit to humans.