INTERVIEWS

Dr. ​Katherine Iscoe, co-founder and CEO discusses Advanced Human Imaging, a developer of a leading patented, proprietary technology that enables users to take vital signs and detect warning signs for myriad diseases using their smartphone. She has watched the Company grow from its initial conception as “MyFiziq”, a primarily B2C offering, into what it is today – a global, highly scalable, and innovative B2B company that is disrupting multiple verticals, including fitness, virtual health, and insurance. She​ also​ shares her strategy for the Company ​in the future. 

Dr. Tobias Barker, Chief Medical Officer at Everside Health, takes a deep dive into value-based and direct primary care (also known as direct to employer), how it compares to fee-for-service clinical environments, and – most significantly – how it benefits patients, providers and employers alike. Dr. Barker explains how this type of advanced primary care can potentially address and mitigate many of the problems in the U.S. healthcare system – from skyrocketing rates of physician burnout to more than 90 million Americans having limited to no healthcare access – and lead to higher quality care and reduced costs. 

Dick Simon is co-founder and CEO of Sensorium Therapeutics, a drug discovery platform translating insights from nature and modern neuroscience to develop novel mental health therapeutics. The search for natural compounds with medicinal value is an underexplored area in the advancement of clinical-grade medicines. Dick talks about Sensorium’s proprietary drug discovery platform, which has created better tools to address these unique technical challenges with machine learning and through a significant library of psychoactive plants to pinpoint realistic drug candidates targeting mental health. 

Bill Stilley, is CEO and President of Adial Pharma, a company focused on developing therapies for the treatment of addiction and related diseases, specifically Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). He discusses the company’s lead product AD04, a genetically targeted therapeutic for the treatment of AUD and the promising results from the phase 2b clinical trial in reducing frequency and quantity of drinking. AD04 is now in Phase 3 and has the potential to be an effective and safe treatment option for AUD that does not require abstinence as part of the treatment and does not have the negative side effects of the current drugs on the market. 

Anastasia Daifotis, Chief Scientific Officer, Janssen North America Pharmaceuticals discusses disparities in health care, ways to improve the system, and why innovation matters. She also talks about what we can expect to see in our healthcare system in the next 5 – 10 years. 

Dr. Mary Mulcare, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Summus, the world’s leader in virtual specialty care, discusses their mission to restore human connection in healthcare. Using proprietary technology, Summus creates a new healthcare model, where members quickly connect with leading doctors to provide personalized, condition-specific support across the continuum of care. For patients, this is providing an elevated virtual specialty care experience that includes the ability to access high-quality specialist doctors across any health question, from anywhere in the world. For physicians, this is working to re-engage their professional satisfaction. She also talks about the launch of Summus Wellbeing, a new program grounded in Lifestyle Medicine. 

Morris Panner, President of Intelerad Medical Systems, a global leader in medical imaging management solutions, discusses the new Enterprise Imaging & Informatics Suite. Combining solutions from Intelerad’s recently acquired brands, the suite empowers hospitals and health systems to centralize patient data, achieve interoperability, and improve patient outcomes. 

Celebrity chef Doreen Colondres from Raleigh, NC discusses her Amazon bestseller cookbook “La Cocina No Muerde”. As a Novo Nordisk Ambassador, she’s created healthy recipes, including recipes for those that may be living with chronic conditions. 

Alon Ben-Noon, CEO and co-founder of NeuroSense Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on treatments for neurodegenerative diseases discusses the recent FDA clearance to initiate a pharmacokinetic study of PrimeC, a novel extended-release formulation composed of unique doses of two FDA-approved drugs, which aims to synergistically target several key mechanisms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that contribute to motor neuron degeneration.   NeuroSense plans to initiate a Phase 2b clinical trial multicentered in Israel, the US, and Europe in the first half of 2022 to evaluate the final formulation of PrimeC.    

Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel, Senior Science Advisor on primate experimentation with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) discusses her prior work with primates as “biomedical models” and how the National Primate Research Centers (NPRCs) have failed not only to provide any new discoveries or lead to treatment for infectious diseases but also to prevent or arrest the introduction and spread of harmful viruses, bacteria, and fungi in the laboratories even though these pathogens can cause disease and death in the monkeys and spill over into human communities. Continued reliance on monkeys means that epidemiological studies, cutting-edge computer modeling, and molecular simulations, 3D printed human tissues, and microchips lined with living human cells go underfunded. Research must be modernized, and the first step is to close the primate centers and put the money into research that promises to deliver results.