INTERVIEWS

Dr. Earle Burgess an oncologist from Charlotte, NC discusses prostate cancer, the second most common form of cancer in American men today. He talks about ways of detection with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measured in a blood test and another important yet underrecognized biomarker called prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) that is measured through a PET scan to see where the cancer has spread in the body and gives the patient and the doctor more information on the patients metastatic prostate cancer.

Dr. Andrew Blauvelt, MD, MBA, board-certified dermatologist and President of Oregon Medical Research Center discusses a study published in the “Journal of Dermatological Treatment” that showed TREMFYA ® (guselkumab) provides greater efficacy vs. COSENTYX ® (secukinumab) in most subpopulations of patients with psoriasis.

Dr. Atul Kamath, MD, Director, Center for Hip Preservation at the Cleveland Clinic and a ROSA® Hip developer surgeon discusses the recent FDA clearance of the ROSA® Hip System. This marks the fourth robotic system introduced by Zimmer Biomet. It aims to robotically assist surgeons through critical steps of the procedure and allows them to use real-time data and visualization tools with the goal of reducing intra-operative variability and inconsistency. ROSA® Hip is also the latest addition to ZBEdge™, Zimmer Biomet’s suite of digital and robotic technologies designed to seamlessly share data and deliver clinical insights throughout the entire surgical experience with the goal of improving patient outcomes. 

September is Desmoid Tumor Awareness Month, and given that nearly 30% to 40% of desmoid tumors are initially misdiagnosed, partly due to a lack of awareness, it is important to raise awareness among both patient and doctor communities to better support those who may be living with these devastating tumors. Dr. James (Jim) Cassidy, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer at SpringWorks Therapeutics discusses desmoid tumors, also called aggressive fibromatosis or desmoid-type fibromatosis, which are rare and often debilitating and disfiguring soft-tissue tumors with no FDA-approved treatment. He also talks about how SpringWorks is working to advance a potential new treatment option for people with desmoid tumors. 

Rich Birhanzel, Senior Managing Director, Global Health Lead at Accenture Health discusses key takeaways of the 2021 Accenture Health and Life Sciences Experience Survey which looked at today’s changing healthcare experiences in the United States. 

One in five people suffer from some form of depression or anxiety, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Barriers and limited access to care, coupled with a shortage of mental health physicians has helped spur tremendous growth (and record investments) in digital therapeutics, which is not only filling the gap, but increasingly proving to be a viable option. Chris Wasden, Head of Digital Therapeutics at Happify Health discusses ​these trends and the launch of ​Ensemble, a first-of-its kind prescription digital therapy solution that leverages a myriad of targeted AI, gamification and 100+ Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness interventions that was brought to market under the FDA’s Covid Emergency Authorization.​ 

David West, co-founder and CEO of Proscia, discusses the rapid modernization of pathology, a practice that has only recently started to shift away from the microscope towards a data-driven standard of care. David offers a high-level background on the factors accelerating digital pathology adoption and speaks to the unprecedented potential of AI before exploring the impact of digitization on patient care. 

The COVID-19 Delta variant is raging through the US putting patients on hemodialysis (HD) at higher risk for infection. John Milad, CEO of Quanta Dialysis Technologies discusses how this time can be used as a catalyst for positive change in the care of HD patients through accessible remote care and why innovation is needed now to bring a positive impact to the healthcare system and patients. 

Moderate to severe fatigue affects nearly 50% of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients and greatly impacts their quality of life.    Dr. Alyssa Johnsen, MD, PhD, Vice President, Rheumatology Disease Area Lead, Janssen Research & Development discusses a new publication in “Arthritis Research & Therapy” that supports TREMFYA’s (guselkumab) ability to reduce fatigue in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients.   The two phase 3 clinical trials of 1,120 patients with active PsA found that guselkumab 100 mg every four weeks or every eight weeks led to clinical and sustained improvements in fatigue through one year.

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.