Transcript:

So, at the risk of sparking some heated debate, I wanted to try to gauge where we are at as a sector on the whole RFK thing!

For context, I’m recording this on Thursday morning UK time, Thursday 30th January. So Robert Kennedy Junior had his first confirmation hearing yesterday in front of the senate. That is, to decide whether he will become the new US health secretary serving under Donald Trump.

He will have another hearing today so I guess we’ll find out more but I was interested to hear people’s initial reactions.

Now, I only managed to tune in to a snippet and the rest I’ve read the highlights this morning.

I think we can all agree that there’s a major crisis going on with our health and specifically with the culture around maintaining our own personal health. Huge issues with processed food! I don’t think any of us are debating that are we?

How you take on the food industry I have no idea.

But if you know me, I think you’ll already know I fully believe we should be promoting whole person health and we need to promote health from the foundations up so prevention of disease through good nutrition, exercise and psychological practices and training.

Incidentally I believe that as an industry that specialises in health innovation, we should be at the forefront of promoting that culture, We have a responsibility to promote cultures of health within our own teams, but that’s a chat for another day. 

And you’ll also know that I’m still a big believer in the place for pharmaceuticals and that if we can maybe remove some of the noise, we can really focus our efforts on areas that really really need our expertise.

Anyway I digress!

Obviously the big controversial topic is vaccines. I’m going to avoid the topic of covid vaccines as I think that is quite complex. 

But on vaccines in general, my feeling was that he seemed a little unclear about his answers.

I do worry about hearing scepticism around the likes of polio and measles as I believe the evidence overwhelming supports those campaigns and it would be great to see a world where we could eradicate preventable diseases like those. The ideal scenario being that those drugs make themselves redundant!

The counter argument being put forward is that he is not anti vaxx but that he wants to promote more scrutiny in the drugs we develop. So he is supposedly advocating for much stricter trials for safety and efficacy. 

I mean, I think we all work pretty hard to ensure trials are run properly so is this more about how the regulators review the data? 

Do you think we’re going to see changes in the trials sector? I don’t know, what’s your reaction?

Transcript:

I was really lucky to find this Roe deer antler in my garden before Christmas and it’s got me thinking ever since about cycles.

Everything in nature happens in cycles!

Everything in the UNIVERSE happens in cycles

Bucks shed their antlers every year. Which may seem like a rather shocking loss to us but every year they grow back stronger. For this reason, in Celtic culture deer are revered as symbols of regeneration and renewal, as well as classic symbols of strength and leadership.

Everything happens in cycles.

Energy flows from one organism to another. From the earth into plants, into animals and into other animals, ultimately ending up back in the earth. One organism consumes another but the energy is never lost, it just transfers from one form to another.

In winter all the plants appear to die down, but they are simply resting and germinating under the soil ready to blossom in the spring and summer.

So it stands to reason that everything in human psychology, behaviour and subsequent socio economic outcomes also works in cycles. 

The 2008 crash happened because people forgot the reason why banks were careful about lending. Vaccines sceptics arose because our generation are lucky not to remember polio and smallpox. Wars restart because we haven’t learned the lessons of the past.

But cycles also give us a chance to review our processes. There is a place for evaluating what is truly no longer serving us. What processes have got so convoluted that they are doing more harm than good.

Even drug classes work in cycles. Psychedelics showed promise in the 50s, were debunked in the 60s but now they’re back. Thalidomide of all things! Got a terrible wrap because awful events happened. But later was successfully developed in treatments for leprosy and even cancer. I think that’s a very good example of where we can succeed in looking at something from a different perspective but absolutely not forgetting why we put safeguards in place.

And money, like energy, never disappears, it is just going to different places.

When I did my mental health first aid training, I was taught that if you are speaking to someone in crisis, you should remind them that whatever they are going through is temporary and they will feel better again soon.

The world may be going through a whole lot of change right now, but thank goodness in some places we are seeing some green shoots of peace.

I’m hopeful that this year will be better for everyone. What do you think?

Transcript:

When I was at university, we were told, “Whoever invents a weight loss drug will make billions.” And looking at what Ozempic has done for Novo Nordisk’s share price over the past couple of years, I think we can all agree—that prediction turned out to be spot on. It took a lot longer than I expected, but here we are. The era of weight loss drugs is officially upon us.

But here’s what’s really been on my mind.

These GLP-1 agonists, like Ozempic, have something in common with psychedelic drugs—an area I’ve also been deeply involved in recently. What they share is this: Both classes of drugs are most effective when paired with coaching.

Psychedelics? They’re showing incredible promise in mental health, but they work best alongside psychotherapy. GLP-1 agonists? They’re being prescribed with dietary and exercise advice to help people make sustainable changes.

It’s made me wonder: Are we finally entering an era where coaching and mindset are seen as crucial parts of a treatment plan—just as important as the drug itself?

Now, here’s the thing. In drug development, the current gold standard is to run clinical trials that strip out the placebo effect—the power of the mind. But what if, instead of ruling it out, we embraced it?

Imagine adding a third arm to clinical trials. One that still measures the drug’s mechanism alone but also actively explores how coaching and mindset can amplify the drug’s effects. That’s exactly the kind of conversation we’ve been having at Caritas from the start.

The real question is: Can we bring this approach into everyday healthcare? Can we build systems that treat the whole person—where mindset, coaching, and the power of the mind are integrated into the regime?

What do you think? Are we ready for this shift in healthcare? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Transcript:

I’ve just been watching some of the Fierce Biotech virtual coverage of JP Morgan week, and wow—there’s so much buzz about AI right now! It’s no surprise, though—AI has the potential to completely transform our medical world, bringing groundbreaking treatments to patients faster than ever before.

But it also got me thinking. At its core, our industry isn’t just about technology. It’s about people. About humans! People are the end-users—our patients—and they’re also the heart of our teams as service providers.

I’ve been hearing that AI could achieve general intelligence in the next 3-4 years which is incredible! But we must not forget that it won’t have true emotional intelligence. And emotional intelligence is absolutely vital—not just in patient care but in planning and managing clinical development.

And emotions are absolutely key to our health! We know that emotional distress is the root cause of so much of today’s disease burden.

AI is a powerful, game-changing tool, but I believe it needs to work alongside our human skills—not replace them. If we implement AI in a way that complements our expertise, I think it will be truly transformational.

What do you think? Have you heard any interesting perspectives or plans about AI in clinical development? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Drop me a comment below!

Roslin was put on the map in 1999 when Dolly the Sheep was born at the Roslin Institute (part of the University of Edinburgh).

Roll on 2006 and RoslinCT (or Roslin Cells as it was) spun out to take this incredible technology into human medicine.

I was delighted to speak to Andy Paterson and Kevin Bruce to find out more about their fascinating work.

Find out more about Roslin CT at:
https://www.roslinct.com/

This podcast is sponsored by leading clinical development company Caritas BioScience
https://caritasbioscience.com/

And hosted by Leigh Fell
https://www.leighfell.com/

Edited by Callum Greens - Wolfie Media
https://calzo.uk

Dr David R Hamilton is a world leading expert in the mind-body connection and particularly the science of kindness!

A successful, writer, columnist and speaker, David is an advocate for kindness and a master at explaining complex scientific processes in ways we can all understand.

In this podcast we discussed David's upcoming new book release:
"The Joy of Actually Giving a F**k"
which is out on 9th July 2024 and available for pre-order now!

Order David's new book and find out more about his work at:
https://drdavidhamilton.com/books/

This podcast is sponsored by leading clinical development company Caritas BioScience 
https://caritasbioscience.com/

And hosted by Leigh Fell
https://www.leighfell.com/

Edited by Callum Greens - Wolfie Media
https://calzo.uk

David Mulligan is CEO of wonderful charity called Funding Neuro.

In this episode we discuss how Funding Neuro are helping drive forward clinical trials in and aggressive form of paediatric brain cancer called DIPG (Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma).

We talked about other neurological conditions as well such as parkinson's and some of the challenges we face in developing new treatements.

This was a fascinating discussion.

Find out more about David's work at:
https://fundingneuro.com/

This podcast is sponsored by leading clinical development company Caritas Science Solutions
https://caritasscience.co.uk/

And hosted by Leigh Fell
https://www.leighfell.com/

Edited by Callum Greens - Wolfie Media
https://calzo.uk

Do you love regulatory inspections?

Matt Hersch and Steve Crow of BlueGreen Clinical tell us why they do!

In this first episode of 2024 Matt and Steve tell us about their experience of developing a medicine and what lessons they've learned along the way and how they can help start up and spin outs to plan their clinical development.

This podcast is sponsored by leading clinical development company Caritas Science Solutions
https://caritasscience.co.uk/

And hosted by Leigh Fell
https://www.leighfell.com/

Edited by Callum Greens - Wolfie Media
https://calzo.uk

Alix Mackay speaks to us about the life sciences industry in Scotland.

Alix has been in the life science industry for over 20 years having spent a number of years as a marketing consultant. In recent years she has become an integral part of life science governance in Scotland as a member of the ILG or industry leadership group, working closely with the Scottish Parliament and Minister Ivan Mckee and notably chairing the Scotsman Scottish Life Sciences conference, the most recent one being on Wednesday there 29th November.

This podcast is sponsored by leading clinical development company Caritas Science Solutions
https://caritasscience.co.uk/

And hosted by Leigh Fell
https://www.leighfell.com/

Edited by Callum Greens - Wolfie Media
https://calzo.uk

Prof John Harrison is Chief Scientific Officer at Scottish Brain Sciences.

In this fascinating conversation we cover all things brain health, including the latest science in Alzheimer's therapy development and how to look after your own cognitive function.

As always this podcast should not be taken as medical advice and you should always seek help from your GP in the first instance. But as discussed in the podcast Brain Sciences Scotland are keen to speak to people directly who have an interest in their cognitive health. For more information visit their website on:

https://brainsciences.scot/

Also mentioned in the podcast were the following resources:
https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/
https://www.alz.org/

Exercises mentioned were mnemonic exercises

This podcast is sponsored by leading clinical development company Caritas Science Solutions
https://caritasscience.co.uk/

And hosted by Leigh Fell
https://www.leighfell.com/

Edited by Callum Greens - Wolfie Media
https://calzo.uk