Empowered Patient Podcast

Dr. John Friend, CEO of Kazia Therapeutics, is investigating how to change the underlying biology that lets cancers resist treatment and evade the immune system. A central challenge in oncology is that cancer cells adapt and suppress immune recognition. Reprogramming the biology includes altering immune evasion mechanisms and the tumor microenvironment. Their lead drug candidate is showing reductions in terminally exhausted T cells and decreases in circulating tumor cell clusters in patients with stage 4 triple-negative breast cancer and indicating efficacy in colorectal cancer and pediatric brain cancer.

John explains, "Our pipeline and strategy are increasingly focused on what we're calling reprogramming cancer biology. So instead of asking only how do we kill more cancer cells, we're actually also asking how we can change the underlying biology that allows these cells to resist treatment, escape our own immune system, and spread? That's really the common thread through which we're building Kazia in our pipeline. I guess the other way you can think about it is that cancer is not a static target."

"You may start treatment with a drug that blocks something that the cancer depends on, and initially it works, but you're applying enormous pressure, selective pressure. These cancer cells can then adapt, or the cancer cells that can adapt are the ones that survive. So those surviving cells, they may activate another growth pathway. They may change the genes that are turned on or turned off by certain therapies. They may enter a different sort of cellular state, maybe a non-proliferating state, or actually alter the environment around the tumor such that the immune system has greater difficulty recognizing and attacking it."

"So when we talk about resistance or reprogramming, it doesn't necessarily mean the original therapy was unsuccessful. In many cases, it did work very well. The problem is cancer evolved around it. A major, major direction for oncology now is understanding that resistance state and determining whether we can change it, whether we can therapeutically change it."

#KaziaTherapeutics #Oncology #CancerResearch #Immunotherapy #BreastCancer #ColorectalCancer #ClinicalTrials #TumorMicroenvironment #DrugDevelopment #PI3K #mTOR #Paxalisib

kaziatherapeutics.com

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Dr. John Friend, CEO of Kazia Therapeutics, is investigating how to change the underlying biology that lets cancers resist treatment and evade the immune system. A central challenge in oncology is that cancer cells adapt and suppress immune recognition. Reprogramming the biology includes altering immune evasion mechanisms and the tumor microenvironment. Their lead drug candidate is showing reductions in terminally exhausted T cells and decreases in circulating tumor cell clusters in patients with stage 4 triple-negative breast cancer and indicating efficacy in colorectal cancer and pediatric brain cancer.

John explains, "Our pipeline and strategy are increasingly focused on what we're calling reprogramming cancer biology. So instead of asking only how do we kill more cancer cells, we're actually also asking how we can change the underlying biology that allows these cells to resist treatment, escape our own immune system, and spread? That's really the common thread through which we're building Kazia in our pipeline. I guess the other way you can think about it is that cancer is not a static target."

"You may start treatment with a drug that blocks something that the cancer depends on, and initially it works, but you're applying enormous pressure, selective pressure. These cancer cells can then adapt, or the cancer cells that can adapt are the ones that survive. So those surviving cells, they may activate another growth pathway. They may change the genes that are turned on or turned off by certain therapies. They may enter a different sort of cellular state, maybe a non-proliferating state, or actually alter the environment around the tumor such that the immune system has greater difficulty recognizing and attacking it."

"So when we talk about resistance or reprogramming, it doesn't necessarily mean the original therapy was unsuccessful. In many cases, it did work very well. The problem is cancer evolved around it. A major, major direction for oncology now is understanding that resistance state and determining whether we can change it, whether we can therapeutically change it."

#KaziaTherapeutics #Oncology #CancerResearch #Immunotherapy #BreastCancer #ColorectalCancer #ClinicalTrials #TumorMicroenvironment #DrugDevelopment #PI3K #mTOR #Paxalisib

kaziatherapeutics.com

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Leo Petrossian, CEO of Kandu, discusses a groundbreaking approach to stroke recovery that uses an FDA-cleared, non-invasive EEG headset combined with a robotic glove that detects when a patient visualizes moving their impaired arm and simultaneously moves the arm mechanically. Traditional rehabilitation has treated the arm rather than the brain, which is the source of the damage. This brain-computer interface builds new neuronal pathways and has proven effective in chronic stroke patients, regardless of how much time has passed since the stroke.

Leo explains, "When we think of Kandu, we think of it in many dimensions. It may be described as a technology company or a startup or an innovative organization or things like that. I often don't view it through the lens of the company. I rotate the narrative and focus on the patient population that we serve. Kandu is really the story of eight million patients living in the United States who are currently almost invisible to the healthcare system. There are about eight million stroke survivors living in the United States, and these people have had to figure out what it means to live a life again after suffering a significant health event."

"Because it's very challenging and stressful, less than half of the patients who are disabled actually get into rehab in that 90 to 180-day window. And most patients pass that 180-day line, never even having a chance to restore lost function. So IpsiHand is an FDA-designated breakthrough therapy that was de novo cleared, which is a novel technology. It's the first and only thought-activated therapy ever cleared by the FDA."

#Kandu #StrokeRehabilitation #BrainComputerInterface #BCI #ChronicStroke #MedTech #Neurology #ClinicalInnovation #OccupationalTherapy #PhysicalTherapy #HealthcareInnovation #StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #Neuroplasticity #NeuroRehabilitation

Kandu.com

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Leo Petrossian, CEO of Kandu, discusses a groundbreaking approach to stroke recovery that uses an FDA-cleared, non-invasive EEG headset combined with a robotic glove that detects when a patient visualizes moving their impaired arm and simultaneously moves the arm mechanically. Traditional rehabilitation has treated the arm rather than the brain, which is the source of the damage. This brain-computer interface builds new neuronal pathways and has proven effective in chronic stroke patients, regardless of how much time has passed since the stroke.

Leo explains, "When we think of Kandu, we think of it in many dimensions. It may be described as a technology company or a startup or an innovative organization or things like that. I often don't view it through the lens of the company. I rotate the narrative and focus on the patient population that we serve. Kandu is really the story of eight million patients living in the United States who are currently almost invisible to the healthcare system. There are about eight million stroke survivors living in the United States, and these people have had to figure out what it means to live a life again after suffering a significant health event."

"Because it's very challenging and stressful, less than half of the patients who are disabled actually get into rehab in that 90 to 180-day window. And most patients pass that 180-day line, never even having a chance to restore lost function. So IpsiHand is an FDA-designated breakthrough therapy that was de novo cleared, which is a novel technology. It's the first and only thought-activated therapy ever cleared by the FDA."

#Kandu #StrokeRehabilitation #BrainComputerInterface #BCI #ChronicStroke #MedTech #Neurology #ClinicalInnovation #OccupationalTherapy #PhysicalTherapy #HealthcareInnovation #StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #Neuroplasticity #NeuroRehabilitation

Kandu.com

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Dr. Sandeep Palakodeti, Chief Medical Officer for Los Angeles-based Bold, discusses the company's comprehensive approach to healthy aging which centers on movement, nutrition, and clinical care. Bold is supported by an AI-enabled platform that personalizes the patient experience and enables a hybrid approach for high-quality care. A particular focus is the growing use of GLP-1 medications among seniors, their impact on the body and muscle mass, and ways to reduce negative side effects.

Sandeep explains, "For most of us, aging is something we don't look forward to. And the reason is that we are robbed of our independence in most cases. When I talk to patients in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond, many of them don't tell me they want to be running marathons and doing Iron Man. They may, and we help some of our patients get there, but most people are feeling a little sluggish in the afternoon, don't have that extra step they used to, are having a little bit of extra trouble shedding those pounds, can't stay up with their grandchildren, can't dance with their kids like they used to. And those are the little things in life that sort of rob them of joy in their daily experience of life. So aging is really about how we preserve those things that are meaningful to us, that allow us to gracefully be ourselves and be independent more than anything."

"We think we've taken a pretty comprehensive approach here at Bold, and we focused very heavily on movement and nutrition as medicine as the core drivers of that. And we're excited now to be opening that aperture a little bit more and being able to do a little bit more for our patients, which we'll talk about here."

#AgeBold #HealthcareLeadership #GLP1 #HealthyAging #GeriatricCare #PreventiveMedicine #LongevityMedicine #DigitalHealth #Sarcopenia #PatientCare #CME #Obesity #Aging #GLP1 #Medicare #Seniors

agebold.com

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Dr. Sandeep Palakodeti, Chief Medical Officer for Los Angeles-based Bold, discusses the company's comprehensive approach to healthy aging which centers on movement, nutrition, and clinical care. Bold is supported by an AI-enabled platform that personalizes the patient experience and enables a hybrid approach for high-quality care. A particular focus is the growing use of GLP-1 medications among seniors, their impact on the body and muscle mass, and ways to reduce negative side effects.

Sandeep explains, "For most of us, aging is something we don't look forward to. And the reason is that we are robbed of our independence in most cases. When I talk to patients in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond, many of them don't tell me they want to be running marathons and doing Iron Man. They may, and we help some of our patients get there, but most people are feeling a little sluggish in the afternoon, don't have that extra step they used to, are having a little bit of extra trouble shedding those pounds, can't stay up with their grandchildren, can't dance with their kids like they used to. And those are the little things in life that sort of rob them of joy in their daily experience of life. So aging is really about how we preserve those things that are meaningful to us, that allow us to gracefully be ourselves and be independent more than anything."

"We think we've taken a pretty comprehensive approach here at Bold, and we focused very heavily on movement and nutrition as medicine as the core drivers of that. And we're excited now to be opening that aperture a little bit more and being able to do a little bit more for our patients, which we'll talk about here."

#AgeBold #HealthcareLeadership #GLP1 #HealthyAging #GeriatricCare #PreventiveMedicine #LongevityMedicine #DigitalHealth #Sarcopenia #PatientCare #CME #Obesity #Aging #GLP1 #Medicare #Seniors

agebold.com

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Adrian Mendes, Chief Executive Officer at Perimeter Medical, has developed a platform that uses AI and optical coherence tormography (OCT) imaging to provide surgeons with real-time visualization of tumor margins during breast cancer surgery. By scanning while the patient is still in the operating room the platform enables surgeons to identify cancerous cells at the margins and remove addiional tissue, eliminating the need for delayed pathology review and possible additional surgery. This technology benefits all stakeholders- the patients avoid repeat surgery, surgeons see a higher success rate, hospitals optimize operating room utilization, and payers have reduced costs.

Adrian explains, "So fundamentally, the challenge that we see out there in cancer surgery, and specifically in breast cancer surgery, is that there's a very high rate of patients who have to come back in for a second surgery. For breast cancer, it's about one in every four to one in every five patients who go through breast cancer surgery who have to come back again because a surgeon unfortunately wasn't able to remove all the cancer. And so we help them with that."

"What we do is we have a product that has an imaging system in it that uses a unique modality type of imaging that has very high resolution. And with that, the surgeons can, in real time, look within the margin of the tumor and inspect it and then make a decision on whether they need to take more tissue right there in that first surgery because they see some cancerous cells in that margin or not."

"Fundamentally, the goal of a surgery, a cancer surgery, the way it's judged as being successful or not, is if they're able to remove the tumor and have a few millimeters thick of clean margin, no cancerous cells within that two-millimeter margin, and then that would be considered a successful surgery. And it's very hard to do. And not being able to do that is what leads to that very high re-operation rate."

#PerimeterMedical #BreastCancer #Healthcare #ArtificialIntelligence #AIinHealthcare #DigitalHealth #MedTech #CancerCare #MedicalImaging #BreastCancerSurgery #SurgicalOncology #AIinMedicine #MedTech #ORInnovation #HealthcareAI #FDAApproved #PatientOutcomes

perimetermed.com

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Adrian Mendes, Chief Executive Officer at Perimeter Medical, has developed a platform that uses AI and optical coherence tormography (OCT) imaging to provide surgeons with real-time visualization of tumor margins during breast cancer surgery. By scanning while the patient is still in the operating room the platform enables surgeons to identify cancerous cells at the margins and remove addiional tissue, eliminating the need for delayed pathology review and possible additional surgery. This technology benefits all stakeholders- the patients avoid repeat surgery, surgeons see a higher success rate, hospitals optimize operating room utilization, and payers have reduced costs.

Adrian explains, "So fundamentally, the challenge that we see out there in cancer surgery, and specifically in breast cancer surgery, is that there's a very high rate of patients who have to come back in for a second surgery. For breast cancer, it's about one in every four to one in every five patients who go through breast cancer surgery who have to come back again because a surgeon unfortunately wasn't able to remove all the cancer. And so we help them with that."

"What we do is we have a product that has an imaging system in it that uses a unique modality type of imaging that has very high resolution. And with that, the surgeons can, in real time, look within the margin of the tumor and inspect it and then make a decision on whether they need to take more tissue right there in that first surgery because they see some cancerous cells in that margin or not."

"Fundamentally, the goal of a surgery, a cancer surgery, the way it's judged as being successful or not, is if they're able to remove the tumor and have a few millimeters thick of clean margin, no cancerous cells within that two-millimeter margin, and then that would be considered a successful surgery. And it's very hard to do. And not being able to do that is what leads to that very high re-operation rate."

#PerimeterMedical #BreastCancer #Healthcare #ArtificialIntelligence #AIinHealthcare #DigitalHealth #MedTech #CancerCare #MedicalImaging #BreastCancerSurgery #SurgicalOncology #AIinMedicine #MedTech #ORInnovation #HealthcareAI #FDAApproved #PatientOutcomes

perimetermed.com

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Dr. Neil Inhaber, VP and Head of Global Medical Affairs at Takeda, highlights the complexities of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection following organ transplantation when a patient's immune system is suppressed. Managing post-transplant CMV is particularly challenging because treatments must balance the risk of organ rejection and the need for immunosuppressive and anti-CMV therapies.

Neil explains, "Takeda has been involved in the development of anti-infectives that target post-transplant cytomegalovirus or CMV infection. And this is an area that really has been a challenge for clinicians for as long as I've been in practice. When I first entered practice 40 years ago, I was taking care of lung transplant patients, and then I joined industry about 20 years ago to focus on the industry side. And this is something that's been present even since I was in practice."

"When you think about cytomegalovirus in general, this is not a problem in the general population because about 50% of the population is infected is a strong word, but certainly is colonized with cytomegalovirus. So, for example, I might be carrying it, and I might be one of those 50%. For me, it's no problem at all because my immune system can keep it under control. If I were in a situation where I would need to have my immune system suppressed following an organ transplantation, that is when there is the possibility for the cytomegalovirus to activate."

#Takeda #Maribavir #TransplantID #CMVAwareness #TransplantMedicine #CMV #InfectiousDisease #OrganTransplant #RealWorldEvidence #TransplantInfectiousDisease #MedicalAffairs #HealthcareInnovation

Takeda.com

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Dr. Neil Inhaber, VP and Head of Global Medical Affairs at Takeda, highlights the complexities of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection following organ transplantation when a patient's immune system is suppressed. Managing post-transplant CMV is particularly challenging because treatments must balance the risk of organ rejection and the need for immunosuppressive and anti-CMV therapies.

Neil explains, "Takeda has been involved in the development of anti-infectives that target post-transplant cytomegalovirus or CMV infection. And this is an area that really has been a challenge for clinicians for as long as I've been in practice. When I first entered practice 40 years ago, I was taking care of lung transplant patients, and then I joined industry about 20 years ago to focus on the industry side. And this is something that's been present even since I was in practice."

"When you think about cytomegalovirus in general, this is not a problem in the general population because about 50% of the population is infected is a strong word, but certainly is colonized with cytomegalovirus. So, for example, I might be carrying it, and I might be one of those 50%. For me, it's no problem at all because my immune system can keep it under control. If I were in a situation where I would need to have my immune system suppressed following an organ transplantation, that is when there is the possibility for the cytomegalovirus to activate."

#Takeda #Maribavir #TransplantID #CMVAwareness #TransplantMedicine #CMV #InfectiousDisease #OrganTransplant #RealWorldEvidence #TransplantInfectiousDisease #MedicalAffairs #HealthcareInnovation

Takeda.com

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