INTERVIEWS

Dr. Thomas Kim, President and CEO of EpiVario, a preclinical pharmaceutical company, discusses the study published in “Nature” (Oct 2019) titled “Alcohol metabolism contributes to brain histone acetylation”.  This new research is the first empirical evidence indicating a direct link between alcohol consumption and the memory formation process. Mice tested during the study showed a preference for alcohol when exposed to environmental cues to consume alcohol; and when this metabolic route was blocked, via the ACSS2 enzyme, this preference was eliminated. These new findings could pave the way for novel therapeutic interventions for alcohol use, fetal alcohol syndrome, and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Shelley Fuld Nasso, CEO at the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) and Justin Birckbichler a 28-year-old cancer survivor discusses a new program/series called “Survivorship Today” that looks at what it’s like to live with cancer and aims to help people understand the realities that people affected by cancer face each day.  Actor Sterling K. Brown will be narrating the series by Bristol-Myers Squibb which tells the stories of cancer survivors across the country.

Dr. Nimesh Patel talks about Redbird Bioscience, Oklahoma’s largest commercial medical cannabis processor.  He discusses best practices and guidance on what doctors, medical support teams and patients need to understand in order to maximize the benefits of medical cannabis.

Dr. Neera K. Dahl, MD, PhD, a leading nephrologist at Yale School of Medicine who specializes in diagnosing and treating kidney ailments and genetic kidney disorders such as ADPKD, shares important information on ADPKD and living with the condition.  She also helps educate patients on how accepting their diagnosis and learning to manage their symptoms can help them take charge of their life with ADPKD. Dr. Neera Dahl, here on behalf of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.

Dan Reynolds, lead singer of the Grammy Award-winning band Imagine Dragons, discusses his experience living with ankylosing spondylitis or AS and his work with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation to launch “Monster Pain in the AS” to raise awareness of unexplained back pain that may be AS.  He is joined by Dr. Hillary Norton, rheumatologist, who is also living with AS. She shares signs and symptoms and her own personal perspective on the disease and the importance of getting the correct diagnosis.

This November during Prematurity Awareness Month, Michelle Johnson with Abbott talks about human milk fortifiers that are added to breast milk to provide additional calories and essential nutrients.

Dr. Darla Liles, Hematologist/Oncologist at East Carolina University and sickle cell patient Majara (who participated in the SUSTAIN clinical trial) discuss the unique challenges facing sickle cell patients, including the impact of sickle cell pain crises. They’ll also discuss the latest FDA-approved treatment, Adakveo® (crizanlizumab-tmca) for use in people 16 years of age and older, and how it may help reduce those painful episodes and potentially life-threatening complications.

Returning guest, Brad Bostic, chairman, and CEO of hc1, the bioinformatics leader in precision testing and prescribing, discusses the collaboration between hc1 and Quest Diagnostics, the largest provider of lab testing in the U.S.  He also talks about the current challenges health systems face in improving the quality and cost-efficiency of their lab management strategies, how a streamlined test utilization or lab stewardship program results in better patient care and overall health outcomes, and the impact a solid lab stewardship program will have on millions of patients.

Joanna Molke, Marketing Director at Sermo, discusses democratizing data across private and public platforms so many industries like pharma might benefit.  Sermo’s closed physician-only social media platform has helped doctors solve cases – showing the start of unlocking the power of data. Sermo has over 800,000 verified doctors spanning over 150 countries.

Dr. Kirk Shepard, CMO, SVP, & Head of Global Medical Affairs, Oncology Business Group at Eisai Inc, discusses the final study results from the KEYNOTE-146/Study 111 presented at the 2019 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, evaluating KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) plus LENVIMA (lenvatinib) combination for the treatment of advanced endometrial cancer.  Merck and Eisai known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, are in collaboration for the worldwide co-development and co-commercialization of LENVIMA.