Empowered Patient Podcast

Clark Lagemann is the CEO of Avidon Health, developing technologies for healthcare providers and payers in order to deliver personalized health improvement plans for employees. Health coaches deploy digital tools to address the challenges of substance abuse and stress in order to find the root causes of problems and find paths to behavior change.

Clark explains, "Well, the first thing is you need to create a culture in which your employees feel comfortable sharing and speaking about the challenges they're facing. Absenteeism, everyone knows when Billy's not at work, but presenteeism is much more difficult to identify. There are so many employees right now that are back at the office that aren't able to effectively deliver objectives and outcomes for the organization."

"Everything connects into the overall person. If you look at some of the data, the chronic healthcare conditions that we see today, it's a problem. But if you look at the root cause, it's stress. It's bad sleep, poor nutrition, and lack of physical activity. Those typical root causes are at the origin of all chronic healthcare costs and diseases. So we're talking about $3.8 trillion worth of annual healthcare costs that are contributed by these factors. Obviously, we need something different, unique and special to engage those employees to treat those types of conditions and those root causes."

"Wellness coaching, I consider the tip of the spear in the healthcare spectrum. There is a shortage of primary care providers, and there is a lack of available appointments currently. People don't want to go into an office. There are all these different challenges. The idea of health coaches and wellness coaches, it's about creating behavior change and being that first step that enables people to be engaged and to understand the risks and factors that are contributing to their healthcare. It also creates the right behaviors that allow them to see long-term health improvements."

@AvidonHealth #HealthCoaches #WellnessCoaches #CognitiveBehavioralTraining #CBT #DigitalHealth #SubstanceAbuse #Stress

avidonhealth.com

Listen to the podcast here

Clark Lagemann is the CEO of Avidon Health, developing technologies for healthcare providers and payers in order to deliver personalized health improvement plans for employees. Health coaches deploy digital tools to address the challenges of substance abuse and stress in order to find the root causes of problems and find paths to behavior change.

Clark explains, "Well, the first thing is you need to create a culture in which your employees feel comfortable sharing and speaking about the challenges they're facing. Absenteeism, everyone knows when Billy's not at work, but presenteeism is much more difficult to identify. There are so many employees right now that are back at the office that aren't able to effectively deliver objectives and outcomes for the organization."

"Everything connects into the overall person. If you look at some of the data, the chronic healthcare conditions that we see today, it's a problem. But if you look at the root cause, it's stress. It's bad sleep, poor nutrition, and lack of physical activity. Those typical root causes are at the origin of all chronic healthcare costs and diseases. So we're talking about $3.8 trillion worth of annual healthcare costs that are contributed by these factors. Obviously, we need something different, unique and special to engage those employees to treat those types of conditions and those root causes."

"Wellness coaching, I consider the tip of the spear in the healthcare spectrum. There is a shortage of primary care providers, and there is a lack of available appointments currently. People don't want to go into an office. There are all these different challenges. The idea of health coaches and wellness coaches, it's about creating behavior change and being that first step that enables people to be engaged and to understand the risks and factors that are contributing to their healthcare. It also creates the right behaviors that allow them to see long-term health improvements."

@AvidonHealth #HealthCoaches #WellnessCoaches #CognitiveBehavioralTraining #CBT #DigitalHealth #SubstanceAbuse #Stress

avidonhealth.com

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Amir Jafri is the CEO and Founder of Immunicom, targeting the molecules and proteins produced by cancer. Using a subtractive approach, Immunicom has developed technology intended to remove the elements that are suppressing the immune system and allowing the tumor to shield itself from the immune system. After treatment, patients in clinical trials are seeing immune cells infiltrate their solid tumor cancers.

Amir explains, "What we will do is then design our own molecules that will neutralize what the molecule of cancer is producing. But instead of making our molecule into a drug, which is normally what would happen, we actually put it into this proprietary liquid cartridge that we have. It's got a liquid chemical matrix, and there's like a little cartridge, and our molecule goes in there. That cartridge attaches to what's called a plasmapheresis machine."

"Now, that machine is very similar to a dialysis machine. These machines exist all over the world and they've been around for 30 years. The patient sits down, and their blood and plasma attach to the machine. They just sit in a comfortable chair, and their plasma is then taken by the machine and sent through our cartridge. And then we will pull out, in a very, very exquisite way, the molecule that the cancer is producing that is suppressing the immune system."

@Immunicom #ImmuneSystem #Immunotherapy #MedicalDevice #HealthTech #MedTech #Oncology #Cancer #Tumors

Immunicom.com

Listen to the podcast here

Amir Jafri is the CEO and Founder of Immunicom, targeting the molecules and proteins produced by cancer. Using a subtractive approach, Immunicom has developed technology intended to remove the elements that are suppressing the immune system and allowing the tumor to shield itself from the immune system. After treatment, patients in clinical trials are seeing immune cells infiltrate their solid tumor cancers.

Amir explains, "What we will do is then design our own molecules that will neutralize what the molecule of cancer is producing. But instead of making our molecule into a drug, which is normally what would happen, we actually put it into this proprietary liquid cartridge that we have. It's got a liquid chemical matrix, and there's like a little cartridge, and our molecule goes in there. That cartridge attaches to what's called a plasmapheresis machine."

"Now, that machine is very similar to a dialysis machine. These machines exist all over the world and they've been around for 30 years. The patient sits down, and their blood and plasma attach to the machine. They just sit in a comfortable chair, and their plasma is then taken by the machine and sent through our cartridge. And then we will pull out, in a very, very exquisite way, the molecule that the cancer is producing that is suppressing the immune system."

@Immunicom #ImmuneSystem #Immunotherapy #MedicalDevice #HealthTech #MedTech #Oncology #Cancer #Tumors

Immunicom.com

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Ming Li is the Chief Strategy Officer at Alvotech, a biosimilar-only company developing biosimilar drugs to provide lower-cost alternatives in the global marketplace. Biosimilars are analogous to generic medicines, but these drugs are complex molecules developed and produced out of living systems, requiring sophisticated manufacturing processes and often litigation. The bulk of success in biologics has been in oncology, immunology, gastrointestinal diseases, asthma, and osteoporosis.

Ming explains, "Biosimilars are somewhat analogous to generic medicines in that they are slightly less expensive to develop than it would be to develop a new molecule. They can be offered at a lower price to patients and healthcare systems. So, we are focusing on developing these more affordable biosimilars. We really think that there's an opportunity here because as biologics have become the standard of care across many different areas, they've also become a large portion of the costs when you look at pharma more broadly."

"In the US, as an example, I think it's almost 45 cents of every dollar spent on pharma is on a biologic. It's complex to develop biosimilars, and they call them similar because they're not exactly the same in the sense that these molecules are so complex you cannot create the exact same molecule. You have to control your process and develop your process and your product and your molecule within certain parameters that are accepted from regulatory agencies. We do aim to navigate those globally, navigate the regulatory environments globally and launch these products in almost every market in the world. That's our aim."

#Alvotech #Biosimilars #Biologics #Immunology #Oncology #GenericDrugs #Iceland

alvotech.com

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Ming Li is the Chief Strategy Officer at Alvotech, a biosimilar-only company developing biosimilar drugs to provide lower-cost alternatives in the global marketplace. Biosimilars are analogous to generic medicines, but these drugs are complex molecules developed and produced out of living systems, requiring sophisticated manufacturing processes and often litigation. The bulk of success in biologics has been in oncology, immunology, gastrointestinal diseases, asthma, and osteoporosis.

Ming explains, "Biosimilars are somewhat analogous to generic medicines in that they are slightly less expensive to develop than it would be to develop a new molecule. They can be offered at a lower price to patients and healthcare systems. So, we are focusing on developing these more affordable biosimilars. We really think that there's an opportunity here because as biologics have become the standard of care across many different areas, they've also become a large portion of the costs when you look at pharma more broadly."

"In the US, as an example, I think it's almost 45 cents of every dollar spent on pharma is on a biologic. It's complex to develop biosimilars, and they call them similar because they're not exactly the same in the sense that these molecules are so complex you cannot create the exact same molecule. You have to control your process and develop your process and your product and your molecule within certain parameters that are accepted from regulatory agencies. We do aim to navigate those globally, navigate the regulatory environments globally and launch these products in almost every market in the world. That's our aim."

#Alvotech #Biosimilars #Biologics #Immunology #Oncology #GenericDrugs #Iceland

alvotech.com

Download the transcript here

Phillip Bogdanovich is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cipher Skin, developing wearable biometric monitoring technology for a wide range of applications. Their BioSleeve is providing data without the wires generally required to collect bio-signals. Development is underway for using this next-to-skin device to be embedded into clothing to capture a variety of biometrics.

Phillip explains, "Cipher Skin is a hardware-enabled SaaS tool. We're focused on providing really good patient outcomes and strengthening the patient/provider bond in the interest of providing best-in-class care. The hardware piece to this is important because, as a hardware-enabled SaaS company, it means that we have significantly better control of the biometric collection device and so better control over the data that's produced."

"The BioSleeve is a clothing-based tool, right now, to your point, in its current form and factor. It is a sleeve for the upper and lower extremity. We're working on devices for the rest of the body. It's a next-to-skin device. The intention is that we are directly embedding sensors into textiles in the form of clothing to capture a variety of biometrics. We're looking to generate the most accurate and precise tool on the planet for collecting motion data and then being able to transmit that in real-time anywhere in the world."

@CipherSkin #Rehabtherapy #PhysicalTherapy #Wearables #RTM #PatientEngagement #HybridHealthcare #Biometrics

Cipherskin.com

Listen to the podcast here

Phillip Bogdanovich is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cipher Skin, developing wearable biometric monitoring technology for a wide range of applications. Their BioSleeve is providing data without the wires generally required to collect bio-signals. Development is underway for using this next-to-skin device to be embedded into clothing to capture a variety of biometrics.

Phillip explains, "Cipher Skin is a hardware-enabled SaaS tool. We're focused on providing really good patient outcomes and strengthening the patient/provider bond in the interest of providing best-in-class care. The hardware piece to this is important because, as a hardware-enabled SaaS company, it means that we have significantly better control of the biometric collection device and so better control over the data that's produced."

"The BioSleeve is a clothing-based tool, right now, to your point, in its current form and factor. It is a sleeve for the upper and lower extremity. We're working on devices for the rest of the body. It's a next-to-skin device. The intention is that we are directly embedding sensors into textiles in the form of clothing to capture a variety of biometrics. We're looking to generate the most accurate and precise tool on the planet for collecting motion data and then being able to transmit that in real-time anywhere in the world."

@CipherSkin #Rehabtherapy #PhysicalTherapy #Wearables #RTM #PatientEngagement #HybridHealthcare #Biometrics

Cipherskin.com

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Mark Manfredi is the CEO and President of Ikena Oncology, which is exploring the Hippo Pathway and how it relates to the RAS Pathway and RAS Network in order to inhibit genes that are associated with cancer initiation, progression, and cancer cell survival. Ikena is learning a great deal about drugging these pathways for therapeutic intervention and therapeutic resistance for NF2 mutant cancers.

Mark elaborates, "We're working on two interconnected pathways. One is called the Hippo Pathway, and the other is called the RAS Pathway. Together we call it the Hippo and RAS Onco Signaling Network because there's a connectivity between these two pathways. We built a deep institutional knowledge as well as tools to enable us to get the right drug to the right patient."

"We follow the science from all angles, including the biologic, so a deep understanding of the mechanism and how it relates to cancer patients as well as chemical. So the best approach to targeting different nodes. This includes targeting individual targets or complexes and then translationally, importantly, understanding which patient populations could potentially benefit from our therapies."

"One of the indications that we're going into is mesothelioma because of the high prevalence of mutations in NF2, and mesothelioma is an unmet medical need. Therefore, the FDA recognized the unmet need as well as the innovation around IK-930 and gave us Fast Track designation as well as Orphan Drug designation."

#IkenaOncology #TargetedOncology #Cancer #MakeItCount #Mesothelioma

IkenaOncology.com

Listen to the podcast here

Mark Manfredi is the CEO and President of Ikena Oncology, which is exploring the Hippo Pathway and how it relates to the RAS Pathway and RAS Network in order to inhibit genes that are associated with cancer initiation, progression, and cancer cell survival. Ikena is learning a great deal about drugging these pathways for therapeutic intervention and therapeutic resistance for NF2 mutant cancers.

Mark elaborates, "We're working on two interconnected pathways. One is called the Hippo Pathway, and the other is called the RAS Pathway. Together we call it the Hippo and RAS Onco Signaling Network because there's a connectivity between these two pathways. We built a deep institutional knowledge as well as tools to enable us to get the right drug to the right patient."

"We follow the science from all angles, including the biologic, so a deep understanding of the mechanism and how it relates to cancer patients as well as chemical. So the best approach to targeting different nodes. This includes targeting individual targets or complexes and then translationally, importantly, understanding which patient populations could potentially benefit from our therapies."

"One of the indications that we're going into is mesothelioma because of the high prevalence of mutations in NF2, and mesothelioma is an unmet medical need. Therefore, the FDA recognized the unmet need as well as the innovation around IK-930 and gave us Fast Track designation as well as Orphan Drug designation."

#IkenaOncology #TargetedOncology #Cancer #MakeItCount #Mesothelioma

IkenaOncology.com

Download the transcript here