INTERVIEWS

Dave Pierce, Executive VP and President, MedSurg and President, Endoscopy at Boston Scientific discusses the recent FDA clearance of its EXALT™ Model B Single-Use Bronchoscope, the latest device in the company’s single-use portfolio. Designed for use in bedside procedures within the intensive care unit (ICU) and operating room (OR), EXALT Model B provides an important option for the more than 1.2 million bedside procedures involving a bronchoscope performed in ICU and OR settings each year.  

Dr. Richard Furie, Chief, Division of Rheumatology, Northwell Health, and principal investigator in​ the Saphnelo™ (anifrolumab) clinical trials for the treatment of moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) discusses what this approval means for the SLE community. This complex disease hasn’t seen a new treatment approved in over a decade. Saphnelo™ is also under regulatory review for SLE in the EU and Japan. The ​phase III trial in SLE using subcutaneous delivery has been initiated, and additional ​phase III trials are planned in lupus nephritis, cutaneous lupus erythematosus and myositis. 

Dr. Ada Kumar, Medical Director in Medical Affairs at Horizon Therapeutics discusses recent findings from “Rheumatology” (July 10, 2021) which showed an “urgent need” for high-quality, prospective studies of patients hospitalized for gout flares. She talks about how clinicians can use the time a patient is hospitalized – when they are more receptive – to educate them on gout and how to treat it, why it’s critical for a rheumatologist to be consulted in the hospital setting, and how Horizon is supporting the gout community through its ongoing and prospective studies. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically decreased blood donations, especially those for plasma.  Thousands of patients rely on plasma-derived therapies to treat potentially deadly conditions like cancer, primary immunodeficiency disease, hemophilia, severe burns and more. One of these patients is John Boyle, who has lived with a rare primary immunodeficiency disease, X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA), since he was 6 months old. He must receive monthly plasma transfusions to survive – which means he has received more than 1,000 plasma donations in his lifetime.  He is here to discuss the dire need for donations, the donation process, his personal journey with plasma, and how plasma donations support these patient communities.   A list of donation centers can be found at donatingplasma.org.

Returning guest, Dr. William Haseltine, President, Access Health International, discusses his latest book “Science as a Superpower: My Lifelong Fight Against Disease and the Heroes who Made it Possible” (June 2021). 

Clinicians are acutely interested in delivering the best outcomes for their patients. One of the biggest challenges for healthcare providers is to get data that is reliable, accurate and timely. Dr. Rohit Uppal, MD, Chief Clinical Officer of TeamHealth Hospitalist Services, one of three groups that were compared in this IllumiCare study, discusses how Teamhealth is using IllumiCare’ s Smart Ribbon (a ribbon of information that hovers within a hospital’s Electronic Medical Record) to display real-time cost, risk and other data. The goal is to empower clinicians to practice more clinically effective medicine, while also being better stewards of resources. TeamHealth also worked with IllumiCare to measure the quality and cost of care provided by hospitalists and how one hospitalist group compares to another. 

Alison Miles, a patient living with Pompe disease, a condition that develops when the body can’t make a protein that breaks down a complex sugar, glycogen, shares her unique diagnosis journey, the importance of self-education and patient empowerment, and the company she started, due to her mobility issues, for functional socks with grips that were fashionable.  She discusses her experience with Nexviazyme® (avalglucosidase alfa) as a patient in the COMET clinical trial.

Dr. Devon Christie, MD, is the Medical and Therapeutic Services Director with Numinus Wellness Inc., a Canadian-based company at the forefront of advancing safe, effective and innovative psychedelic-assisted therapies, and a clinical instructor with the UBC Department of Medicine, shares some insights about the therapy and why the U.S. should consider this type of therapy for those who medically qualify and what others can learn from some of Canada’s recent developments. 

Abizer Gaslightwala, Vice President, Head of U.S. Hematology and Oncology at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, discusses the “Nothing Small About It” online program developed with leading cancer organizations focused exclusively on the psychosocial and emotional needs of the small cell lung cancer (SCLC) community. By creating the first and only digital hub focused exclusively on SCLC, Jazz and partners aim to inspire those living with this aggressive disease to take an active role in their health and well-being. 

Dr. Jared Silver, MD, PhD, Allergist Immunologist & Indication Lead for Mepolizumab, US Medical Affairs Respiratory at GSK discusses the recent FDA approval of NUCALA (mepolizumab) as an add-on maintenance treatment for chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) in adult patients 18 years of age and older with inadequate response to nasal corticosteroids. He explains why incorporating a biologic can be an important part of a patient’s treatment plan.