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.

#CantexPharmaceuticals

STEPHEN G. MARCUS, M.D., CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER    Stephen G. Marcus, M.D. is a physician who has focused his professional career on the development of new treatments for cancer and other life-threatening and disabling diseases. Born and educated in New York City, Dr. Marcus received his medical degree from New York Medical College. After an internal medicine residency at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, and oncology specialty training at the University of California in San Francisco, Dr. Marcus spent several years practicing emergency and critical care medicine and medical oncology.      

In 1985, Dr. Marcus entered the biotechnology industry where he has been directly responsible or played a critical role in the development of a number of important new medications. Dr. Marcus was the leader of the team of scientists and physicians who developed Betaseron as the first effective treatment of multiple sclerosis. This revolutionized the treatment of multiple sclerosis and was the forerunner of the many drugs for multiple sclerosis that are available today. Dr. Marcus played a key role in the development of fludarabine for a chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and served as the leader of multinational teams of researchers developing new treatments of cancer, multiple sclerosis, as well as other life-threatening or disabling conditions.

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.

#REALPEStudy #EKOS #Truveta

Michael R. Jaff, DO is the Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Peripheral Interventions at Boston Scientific. A former professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Jaff was the President of Newton-Wellesley Hospital from October 2016-December 2019. Prior to that, Dr. Jaff was the inaugural Paul and Phyllis Fireman Endowed Chair of Vascular Medicine and Medical Director of the Fireman Vascular Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is an expert in all aspects of vascular medicine, including peripheral artery disease, venous thromboembolic disease, aneurysmal diseases, and all diagnostic strategies in vascular medicine. He is the founder of VasCore, the Vascular Ultrasound Core Laboratory, the largest of its’ kind in the United States. VasCore has participated in trial design and independent analysis of vascular laboratory images for over 200 prospective multicenter peripheral vascular device and pharmaceutical trials across 66 countries. Dr. Jaff has published extensively in the field of Vascular Medicine with over 325 peer reviewed publications and 10 textbooks, is the Past-President of the Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology and was the first physician to have received the designation as Master of the Society for Vascular Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention, and is a registered physician in vascular interpretation (RPVI).

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.

#Immunocore

Dr. David Berman is Head of Research and Development. Over his career, David has worked on multiple immuno-oncology (IO) programs at all stages of development including leadership roles in developing four approved biologics. Most recently, David was Senior Vice President and Head of the AstraZeneca IO Franchise, responsible for the strategy and execution of the Company’s late stage IO program.   Prior to that, he was Head of the early stage oncology program at MedImmune. David has also held senior development roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb including as Head of the Immuno-oncology exploratory development team and global clinical lead for the first approved IO checkpoint inhibitor and one of the first monoclonal antibodies approved for myeloma. Beginning in academia and throughout his industry career, David has led efforts to understand the mechanism of action and predict benefit from IO therapies.

David received a Bachelor’s of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and MD and PhD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He trained in pathology at the National Cancer Institute followed by a fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

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.

#SpirovantSciences

Joan Lau is Chief Executive Officer of Philadelphia-based biotech Spirovant Sciences. She co-founded the company (then called Talee Bio), envisioning the potential for gene therapy for patients with inherited respiratory diseases. Under her leadership, Spirovant gained the support of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and was honored as PACT Healthcare Startup of the Year. Spirovant was acquired twice in 2019, once as part of a $3 billion transaction with Sumitomo Pharma.

Dr. Lau co-founded and is partner with Militia Hill Ventures, a firm focused on forming and growing life sciences companies. Previously she held roles as COO of Immunome (IMNM); President and CEO of Azelon Pharmaceuticals; and President and CEO of Locus Pharmaceuticals, a computational chemistry discovery company. VELEXBRU ® was discovered & developed at Locus under her leadership. Dr. Lau began her career at Merck Research Laboratories.

Dr. Lau has been recognized for her entrepreneurial accomplishments and leadership in the biotechnology industry and within the Philadelphia and social justice non-profit communities. She serves on the board for the Philadelphia Orchestra & Kimmel Center; the Penn School of Social Policy and Practice; Brandywine Realty Trust; and Rockwell Medical, Inc. She is an Adjunct Professor at Penn in the Wharton Healthcare Management Program. Previously she served as national board chair, Human Rights Campaign Foundation (DC). She was selected as the 2020 EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Philadelphia Region; a 2020 Woman of Distinction by the Philadelphia Business Journal; and the 2021 Iris Newman Award recipient from the Alliance for Women Entrepreneurs.

Dr. Lau earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a BSE in Bioengineering, both at the University of Pennsylvania; and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

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.

#EsoGuard

Lishan Aklog, M.D. has served as Lucid’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since its IPO in October 2021 and previously served as its Executive Chairman since its inception in 2018. Dr. Aklog also

co-founded and has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucid’s parent company, PAVmed Inc (Nasdaq: PAVM) since its inception in 2014, and as Executive Chairman of PAVmed’s other major subsidiary, digital health company Veris Health Inc., since its inception.​

Dr. Aklog has been active in the life sciences for several decades, including as an executive, entrepreneur, public company director, technological innovator, corporate advisor, and, previously, as an innovator in cardiac surgery at leading academic medical centers, including Harvard Medical School and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He is a medical technology industry leader who serves on the Board of Directors of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), the world’s leading medical technology trade association, and was recognized as one the Top Healthcare Technology CEOs of 2021 by Healthcare Technology Report.​

Dr. Aklog began his career as a medical technology entrepreneur and executive in 2007, as co-founding Partner of both Pavilion Holdings Group (PHG), a medical device holding company, and Pavilion Medical Innovations (PMI), its venture-backed medical device incubator. He co-founded Vortex Medical Inc., a PHG portfolio company which developed and commercialized the revolutionary AngioVac ® system and served as its Chairman and Chief Technology Officer from its inception until its acquisition by AngioDynamics Inc. Dr. Aklog is an inventor on 35 issued patents and dozens of patent applications, including the patents of the AngioVac system and the majority of the PAVmed’s products. His patents have been honored by the Boston Museum of Science and the Boston Patent Lawyers Association.​

Dr. Aklog has served in various other capacities across the life sciences industry including on the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee of Contrafect Inc. (Nasdaq: CFRX), a biopharmaceutical company, and previously on the Board of Directors and as Chair of the Audit Committee of Viveon Health Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: VHAQ), a healthcare special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC). Over his career, Dr. Aklog has served as a consultant to and on the Scientific Advisory Boards of numerous leading medical device companies, including Medtronic Inc., St. Jude Medical Inc., now Abbott Laboratories, Guidant Cardiac Surgery, now, Getinge AB, and Cardiovations, then, a division of Johnson & Johnson, as well as numerous early-stage medical technology companies. ​

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.

#FamilyHeartFoundation

Mary P. McGowan, MD

Chief Medical Officer, Family Heart Foundation

Dr. Mary McGowan received her medical degree from the University of Massachusetts. She remained at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center for both internship and residency. She completed her fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. McGowan is the Co-Director of the Lipid Clinic at Dartmouth Hitchcock Heart and Vascular Center. She is the author of numerous articles and five books. She has been the principal investigator on over 30 national and international clinical trials and has lectured widely in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia on cholesterol metabolism. Dr. McGowan serves on the alumni board at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and the National Lipid Association Foundation Board. She has previously served on the National Lipid Association Board of Directors, the NH Affiliate of the American Heart Association Board and was the first Chief Medical Officer of the Familial Hypercholesterolemia Foundation.

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.

#neurotech #multiplesclerosis #cerebralpalsy

Jeremiah Robison is the Founder and CEO of CIONIC, an innovative company that builds lightweight and durable bionic clothing driven by powerful algorithms that adapt in real-time to each individual's mobility needs. He started the company in 2018 after his daughter was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and he was frustrated at the lack of effective technology available to help improve her mobility. Four years later, CIONIC introduced the breakthrough, FDA-cleared Cionic Neural Sleeve, the first product to combine sensing, analysis and augmentation into a wearable garment. Prior to CIONIC, Jeremiah spent twenty years at the intersection of data, algorithms, and the human body, driving innovation in sensing and machine learning at Apple, Openwave Systems, Slide, and Jawbone. Jeremiah has a BS and MS in Computer Science from Stanford University.

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.

#chronickidneydisease #kidneydisease #CKD

Charles Vega, M.D., is a family medicine specialist and Director of UC Irvine’s Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community. He has spent his entire 27-year medical career at UCI’s Family Health Center, the largest safety-net clinic in Orange County, where he teaches medical students and residents. His academic interests are focused on access to quality, compassionate medical care for underserved populations, and the development of training programs to promote this vision of healthcare. He is a member of various associations, including American Academy of Family Practice, California Academy of Family Physicians, California Medical Association and National Hispanic Medical Association.