INTERVIEWS

Returning guest, Dr. Steve Marcus, CEO of Cantex Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative therapies for cancer and other life-threatening medical conditions for which new treatments are urgently needed discusses Azeliragon and the launch of investigator-led clinical studies focusing on a combination with radiosurgery in patients with brain metastases, front-line treatment for glioblastoma, metastatic pancreatic cancer and treatment of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and pneumonia to prevent acute kidney injury.

Dr. Michael R. Jaff, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Peripheral Interventions at Boston Scientific and Dr. Peter Monteleone, MD, FACC, FSCAI an interventional cardiologist and vascular medicine physician at Ascension Texas Cardiovascular in Austin, Texas and principal investigator of the REAL-PE study talk about the study results and the potential for real-world data to improve patient care in pulmonary embolism treatment and beyond.

David Berman, Head of Research and Development at Immunocore discusses the 3-year overall survival data from the  KIMMTRAK Phase 3 trial that  was presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2023  for their FDA approved treatment for uveal melanoma, a very deadly type of cancer in the eye. It was the first-ever approved treatment in the space.

Joan Lau, Ph.D., MBA, CEO of Spirovant Sciences discusses cystic fibrosis (CF) and how the standard of care right now addresses but does not correct the underlying cause of the disease. She talks about what needs to be done, and how her organization is working to revolutionize treatment for people living with CF by directly targeting and correcting the underlying cause of the disease.

Dr. Lishan Aklog, MD, Chairman and CEO of Lucid Diagnostics, a commercial-stage cancer prevention diagnostics company, discusses the company’s EsoGuard ® Esophageal DNA Test and EsoCheck ® Esophageal Cell Collection Device, the first and only commercially available tools designed with the goal of preventing cancer and cancer deaths through widespread, early detection of esophageal precancer, targeting the millions of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), also known as chronic heartburn, who are at risk of developing esophageal precancer and cancer.

Dr. Mary McGowan, MD, Chief Medical Officer at the Family Heart Foundation, discusses a recent study that revealed concerning findings showing the diagnosis and treatment of a rare genetic disorder, homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), is dangerously underdiagnosed and undertreated. Results published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) by the Family Heart Foundation found that diagnosis of HoFH, a condition which can lead to severely elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), often does not occur until a heart attack or other cardiac event.

Jeremiah Robison, Founder and CEO of CIONIC discusses the company’s success with the FDA-Cleared Cionic Neural Sleeve, the first bionic clothing to combine sensing, analysis, and augmentation to help individuals with neurological conditions like multiple sclerosis, stroke, and cerebral palsy live more freely and independently. CIONIC is now licensed to ship to over 90% of US states (and growing), with over 400 prescribing institutions and 200,000 hours of customer use.

Dr. Charles Vega, MD, Family Medicine Specialist and Director of Irvine’s Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community discusses Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly’s launch of It Takes 2, a new health initiative to elevate the importance of complete testing and early diagnosis of kidney disease, particularly among those who have type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure and are at greater risk for it. Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly partnered with musical artist Rob Base to release a remix of his ‘80’s hit song “It Takes Two” that underscores how It Takes 2 people – a patient and a healthcare professional – and two tests– eGFR and UACR – to detect kidney disease. View the “It Takes 2 – The Remix” music videos and access educational resources on the initiative’s website at CKDtesting.com.

​Dr. Michael Boland, MD, PhD, Site Director, Mass Eye and Ear, Lexington, Medical Director, Practice Innovation for Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School discusses presentations from the 2023 American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting regarding AI and glaucoma.

Dr. Terence Rooney, Vice President, Rheumatology, Immunology Disease Area Leader for the Immunology Therapeutic Area at Janssen Research & Development shares new data that was presented from the Phase 2a IRIS proof-of-concept study, demonstrating the efficacy and safety of nipocalimab in the first-ever clinical study of an FcRn inhibitor in adults living with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, and supporting its progression into an anti-TNF combination study. These data were presented at the 2023 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence.