Digital transformation as a third lever in the affordability debate, with Alfred Olivares

Blood is a rich source for biomarker development, and CTCs are increasingly proving themselves to be valuable in cancer prognosis and treatment prediction. In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Craig Eagle, Chief Medical Officer of Guardant Health, a precision medicine company that offers blood tests to inform cancer treatment decisions. Eagle discusses Guardant’s participation in the National Cancer Institute’s Vanguard Study, as well as screening, recurrence monitoring, and therapy selection focused on conquering cancer with data, with examples especially in the colorectal cancer space. You can listen to episode 229 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

There is a world of difference between the NHS from its beginnings in 1948 and the NHS as it is now. In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Dr Ruth Chambers OBE, co-director of Raparu Consult CIC and a visiting professor at Staffordshire University, for a conversation on her book, “Our NHS for better or worse?”. Chambers discusses her personal experience as a GP in the NHS, including the discrimination she faced as a woman, and analyses the notion of ‘burden’ in respect of the National Health Service, as well as differences in mental health care now and her proposed ‘Prescription for Change’. You can listen to episode 228 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

CB1 inhibition is an approach that taps into the body’s natural metabolism to burn fat while preserving muscle for more sustainable weight loss. Unlike GLP-1s, which suppress appetite, CB1 inhibition activates fat-burning processes. In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh spoke with Punit Dhillon, CEO of Skye Bioscience, for a conversation on CB1 inhibitor antibodies in the obesity space. Dhillon discusses GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like semaglutide having taken the world by storm, despite the concerns over side effects, as well as what CB1s could mean for the obesity and weight-loss field. You can listen to episode 227 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

Technology and AI can help healthcare systems tackle the affordability challenge while ensuring patients still benefit from cutting-edge treatments. In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Alfred Olivares, global managing partner, healthcare & medtech, at HTEC, in a conversation addressing how innovation can reach patients in a financially sustainable way. Olivares discusses digital transformation that makes care delivery smarter, faster, and more sustainable, as well as how data-driven platforms can support pharma in negotiating outcomes-based agreements with payers like the NHS. You can listen to episode 226 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

There are many efforts at the moment to transform the expensive, labour intensive, and high failure rate processes of drug discovery into automated drug design. And Simon Kohl, founder and CEO of Latent Labs, knows this intimately. In a new episode of the pharmaphorum podcast, Kohl discusses Latent Labs’ emergence from stealth, as well as protein design and drug discovery acceleration in more detail, as well as the importance of democratizing research. You can listen to episode 225 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

A CDMO plays a crucial role in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries by providing comprehensive drug development and manufacturing services, enabling companies to efficiently bring new medicines to market. In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Sigma Mostafa, CSO at KBI BioPharma, about the role of CDMOs and the important factors companies should consider when selecting one. Mostafa sets out what a CDMO does, how they help to advance medicine into clinical and then commercial trials, and the critical role of partnership in drug development. You can listen to episode 224 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

Drug shortages are a critical issue in the US, leaving patients and healthcare providers struggling. Compounding pharmacies, however, can curb drug shortages and help lessen this growing threat to the public's health.  In a  new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Shawn Hodges, CEO of Revelation Pharma, a nationwide network of 503A and 503B compounding pharmacies, spanning across various locations. Hodges discusses the true state of drug shortages in the US at the moment, the essential role compounding played during COVID-19, and opportunities for policy reform. You can listen to episode 223 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

Intra-tumourally injected therapeutics represent a novel approach to cancer cell death, with high tumour dispersion and cell penetration properties. To discuss the potential of these therapeutics to kill tumours and elicit an adaptive immune response within mere days of injection, pharmaphorum spoke with Lew Bender, CEO of Intensity Therapeutics Inc. Bender discusses the possibility of shifting the oncological treatment paradigm with intra-tumourally injected therapeutics, even for cancers that do not respond to immunotherapy, as well as how a business-trained mindset has led to outside-the-box – perhaps zigzagging – learnings. You can listen to episode 222 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

There is a growing body of evidence on the role of inflammation in predicting heart health. In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh spoke with Sandeep Kulkarni, CEO of Tourmaline Bio, about addressing inflammation, and also the impact of AI and GLP-1s on cardiology clinical trials and drug development. Kulkarni also discusses Tourmaline’s IL-6 inhibitor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and his hopes for the future of this field of research. You can listen to episode 221 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

With over 7,000 rare diseases affecting an estimated 30 million people in the US alone, these conditions have long been underfunded and under-researched, leaving patients with limited options. However, virtual trials are emerging as a breakthrough.  In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh is joined by Piet van der Graaf, Senior VP at Certara – a company providing predictive simulation, data-driven modelling, and AI tailored for drug development – for a conversation on the potential of digital twins in rare disease research and drug development. You can listen to episode 220 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.