Developing Drug Targeting B Cells in Autoimmune Disease of the Kidney IgA Nephropathy with Dr. Marshall Fordyce Vera Therapeutics
Release Date: 05/15/2024
Using Health AI Platforms to Bridge Gaps in Patient Care with Matt Blosl DexCare TRANSCRIPT
Empowered Patient Podcast
Matt Blosl, CEO of DexCare, has a core mission to help large health systems use AI responsibly to attract patients and work with them to get appropriate care. While AI's data-processing capabilities are transformative, its use in clinical recommendations remains in its early stages, constrained by fragmented data and the limited availability of validated diagnoses. Matt advises healthcare leaders to adopt a problem-first approach to AI implementation and to use technology to drive significant change rather than just incremental improvements to existing workflows. Matt explains, "Artificial...
info_outline
Using Health AI Platforms to Bridge Gaps in Patient Care with Matt Blosl DexCare
Empowered Patient Podcast
Matt Blosl, CEO of DexCare, has a core mission to help large health systems use AI responsibly to attract patients and work with them to get appropriate care. While AI's data-processing capabilities are transformative, its use in clinical recommendations remains in its early stages, constrained by fragmented data and the limited availability of validated diagnoses. Matt advises healthcare leaders to adopt a problem-first approach to AI implementation and to use technology to drive significant change rather than just incremental improvements to existing workflows. Matt explains, "Artificial...
info_outline
Next Generation Bispecific Antibody Drug Conjugates Improves Targeting of Solid Tumors with Dr. Mayank Gandhi NEOK Bio TRANSCRIPT
Empowered Patient Podcast
Dr. Mayank Gandhi, CEO of NEOK Bio, discusses the company's work on bispecific antibody drug conjugates and the limitations of conventional ADCs, which target a single antigen. Using a bispecific antibody to target two unique antigens on a tumor can address the shortcomings of earlier approaches by improving delivery of the toxic payload, overcoming tumor heterogeneity, and reducing off-target toxicity. NEOK has drugs in development for prostate cancer, and lung, head, neck, and gastrointestinal tumors. The trend for ADCs is toward multi-specific and multi-payload drugs, though Mayank...
info_outline
Next Generation Bispecific Antibody Drug Conjugates Improves Targeting of Solid Tumors with Dr. Mayank Gandhi NEOK Bio
Empowered Patient Podcast
Dr. Mayank Gandhi, CEO of NEOK Bio, discusses the company's work on bispecific antibody drug conjugates and the limitations of conventional ADCs, which target a single antigen. Using a bispecific antibody to target two unique antigens on a tumor can address the shortcomings of earlier approaches by improving delivery of the toxic payload, overcoming tumor heterogeneity, and reducing off-target toxicity. NEOK has drugs in development for prostate cancer, and lung, head, neck, and gastrointestinal tumors. The trend for ADCs is toward multi-specific and multi-payload drugs, though Mayank...
info_outline
How Generative Vision Language AI is Transforming Radiology with Louis Blankemeier Cognita TRANSCRIPT
Empowered Patient Podcast
Louis Blankemeier, CEO and Co-Founder of Cognita, describes the significant gap between the number of radiologists and the rising volume and types of medical imaging that need to be reviewed. The Cognita generative visual language model is an advancement over earlier radiology AI applications that were designed to flag single findings. This integrated approach emulates a radiologist by analyzing complex images and generating full draft radiology reports, demonstrating reduced time per case, increased detection of critical findings, and decreased cognitive burden on radiologists....
info_outline
How Generative Vision Language AI is Transforming Radiology with Louis Blankemeier Cognita
Empowered Patient Podcast
Louis Blankemeier, CEO and Co-Founder of Cognita, describes the significant gap between the number of radiologists and the rising volume and types of medical imaging that need to be reviewed. The Cognita generative visual language model is an advancement over earlier radiology AI applications that were designed to flag single findings. This integrated approach emulates a radiologist by analyzing complex images and generating full draft radiology reports, demonstrating reduced time per case, increased detection of critical findings, and decreased cognitive burden on radiologists....
info_outline
Virtual Physical Therapy Matches In-Clinic Outcomes While Expanding Access and Convenience with Dr. Ashok Gupta Theranow TRANSCRIPT
Empowered Patient Podcast
Dr. Ashok Gupta, CEO and Founder of Theranow, highlights the growing demand for physical therapy and the challenges patients face in accessing care. The Theranow telehealth solution uses technologies such as computer vision and AI to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of virtual care and to measure and document progress to support the clinician's work with the patient. Virtual physical therapy is demonstrating outcomes equal to in-person care and showing higher patient engagement and compliance, driven by the convenience of scheduling and remote monitoring tools. Ashok explains,...
info_outline
Virtual Physical Therapy Matches In-Clinic Outcomes While Expanding Access and Convenience with Dr. Ashok Gupta Theranow
Empowered Patient Podcast
Dr. Ashok Gupta, CEO and Founder of Theranow, highlights the growing demand for physical therapy and the challenges patients face in accessing care. The Theranow telehealth solution uses technologies such as computer vision and AI to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of virtual care and to measure and document progress to support the clinician's work with the patient. Virtual physical therapy is demonstrating outcomes equal to in-person care and showing higher patient engagement and compliance, driven by the convenience of scheduling and remote monitoring tools. Ashok explains,...
info_outline
Enzyme Replacement Therapy for Sanfilippo Syndrome Type B with Dr. Javier Szwarcberg Spruce Biosciences TRANSCRIPT
Empowered Patient Podcast
Dr. Javier Szwarcberg, CEO of Spruce Biosciences, is developing drugs for rare diseases with a primary focus on Sanfilippo Syndrome Type B, a devastating genetic neurodegenerative disease affecting children. The source of this condition is a lack of an enzyme, which results in a buildup of a toxic substance in the brain. The company's drug is an enzyme replacement therapy administered directly to the brain to bypass the blood-brain barrier, and clinical trial data is showing a strong effect on the toxic substrate in the brain and a meaningful benefit on cognition. Javier...
info_outline
Enzyme Replacement Therapy for Sanfilippo Syndrome Type B with Dr. Javier Szwarcberg Spruce Biosciences
Empowered Patient Podcast
Dr. Javier Szwarcberg, CEO of Spruce Biosciences, is developing drugs for rare diseases with a primary focus on Sanfilippo Syndrome Type B, a devastating genetic neurodegenerative disease affecting children. The source of this condition is a lack of an enzyme, which results in a buildup of a toxic substance in the brain. The company's drug is an enzyme replacement therapy administered directly to the brain to bypass the blood-brain barrier, and clinical trial data is showing a strong effect on the toxic substrate in the brain and a meaningful benefit on cognition. Javier...
info_outlineDr. Marshall Fordyce, CEO and Founder of Vera Therapeutics, discusses the company's patient-centric approach to developing new medicines for autoimmune diseases. Vera is currently in Phase 3 with a molecule called Atacicept, which targets B cells in autoimmune diseases. They focus on IgA nephropathy, a rare kidney disease, and the third most common cause of kidney failure. A key concern is that declining kidney function is often misdiagnosed and not screened for because the early warning signs are so subtle.
Marshall explains, "Let me give you an example of our lead indication. So, our molecule in development is called atacicept. It targets the immune system in the specific area of B cells, and B cells are the factories of our antibodies, which we need to fight infection over our lifetime. But in patients with autoimmune disease, these B cells are overstimulated, they're overactive, and there are only a few medicines that target B cells with an appropriate balance of safety and efficacy. We had an insight that the science told us that by inhibiting two key factors in the body, BAFF and APRIL, we could normalize that overactivity of B cells and have better outcomes."
"Now traditional drug development may be long and expensive. We were very strategic in picking IgA nephropathy. This is an area that has had very little drug development over the last decade. A few small companies started to become interested in this area, and thankfully, because of patient advocacy, the FDA allowed a surrogate endpoint in Phase 3 trials, which made it more efficient to bring this molecule forward. So, there are now two drugs on the market for the first time in the last three or four years, for two new drugs in IgA nephropathy. They don't target B cells, which is really what's driving this disease. They work downstream, or they're nonspecific."
"What Vera did differently is that we thought that we could actually demonstrate that kidney function, which in these young patients is declining at an alarming rate, if we could demonstrate that kidney function doesn't decline, that would be meaningful. It would be a significant leap. We don't see that happen in "traditional" drug development often, in my view. So, I think what's different here is that we're picking an area where we think we can intervene and, in early-stage development, show a meaningful improvement in outcomes for patients."
#VeraTherapeutics #KidneyDisease #RareDisease #BCells #Immunotherapy #AutoimmuneDiseases #IgANephropathy
