Addressing the Skin Microbiome with Topical Engineered Microbes with Francisco Salva Azitra TRANSCRIPT
Release Date: 05/29/2025
Next Generation Monoclonal Antibodies for Inflammatory Respiratory Diseases with Barry Quart Connect Biopharma TRANSCRIPT
Empowered Patient Podcast
Barry Quart, CEO of Connect Biopharma, is developing the next generation of monoclonal antibodies targeting inflammatory respiratory diseases such as COPD and asthma. Administered subcutaneously, their lead program targets IL-4 and has demonstrated the ability to rapidly improve airway function and reduce the incidence of acute exacerbations in these patients. Current treatments rely on steroids and bronchodilators, which do not address the underlying inflammatory causes, an area that has largely been under-addressed by other biologic developers. Barry explains, "Connect has been dedicated...
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Next Generation Monoclonal Antibodies for Inflammatory Respiratory Diseases with Barry Quart Connect Biopharma
Empowered Patient Podcast
Barry Quart, CEO of Connect Biopharma, is developing the next generation of monoclonal antibodies targeting inflammatory respiratory diseases such as COPD and asthma. Administered subcutaneously, their lead program targets IL-4 and has demonstrated the ability to rapidly improve airway function and reduce the incidence of acute exacerbations in these patients. Current treatments rely on steroids and bronchodilators, which do not address the underlying inflammatory causes, an area that has largely been under-addressed by other biologic developers. Barry explains, "Connect has been dedicated...
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Scalable MSC Platform Enabling Next Wave of Stem Cell Therapies with Dr. Kilian Kelly Cynata Therapeutics TRANSCRIPT
Empowered Patient Podcast
Dr. Kilian Kelly, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Cynata Therapeutics, has taken on the challenge of manufacturing stem cell therapies consistently and at scale in order to drive the advancements necessary for the next generation of regenerative medicine. Cynata is employing a novel approach that utilizes a single source of pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and mesenchymal cell ancestors (MCAs) to generate mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Lead programs are targeting graft-versus-host disease, osteoarthritis, and diabetic wounds, where clinical trials have shown great promise to...
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Scalable MSC Platform Enabling Next Wave of Stem Cell Therapies with Dr. Kilian Kelly Cynata Therapeutics
Empowered Patient Podcast
Dr. Kilian Kelly, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Cynata Therapeutics, has taken on the challenge of manufacturing stem cell therapies consistently and at scale in order to drive the advancements necessary for the next generation of regenerative medicine. Cynata is employing a novel approach that utilizes a single source of pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and mesenchymal cell ancestors (MCAs) to generate mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Lead programs are targeting graft-versus-host disease, osteoarthritis, and diabetic wounds, where clinical trials have shown great promise to...
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Digital Tools for Caregivers and Patients to Navigate Challenges of Aging with Shauna Sweeney tendercare TRANSCRIPT
Empowered Patient Podcast
Shauna Sweeney, Founder of tendercare, aims to assist caregivers with digital tools and expert support to simplify the process of caring for an aging family member. Recognizing the essential role of caregivers in the quality of life of the patient, tendercare provides a user-friendly interface that incorporates data from wearables and remote sensors to identify early warning signs of risks, help coordinate care, and encourage proactive preparation. The Magic Magnet feature allows caregivers and emergency responders to quickly update and share critical health information. Shauna...
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Digital Tools for Caregivers and Patients to Navigate Challenges of Aging with Shauna Sweeney tendercare
Empowered Patient Podcast
Shauna Sweeney, Founder of tendercare, aims to assist caregivers with digital tools and expert support to simplify the process of caring for an aging family member. Recognizing the essential role of caregivers in the quality of life of the patient, tendercare provides a user-friendly interface that incorporates data from wearables and remote sensors to identify early warning signs of risks, help coordinate care, and encourage proactive preparation. The Magic Magnet feature allows caregivers and emergency responders to quickly update and share critical health information. Shauna...
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How Behavioral Economics is Transforming Healthcare Engagement with Karen Sussman Horgan VAL Health TRANSCRIPT
Empowered Patient Podcast
Karen Sussman Horgan is the Co-Founder and CEO of VAL Health, a behavioral economics consulting firm that helps healthcare organizations drive engagement and nudge patients to improve their health and lifestyle choices. Behavioral economics is the science of understanding how patients make irrational choices based on biases, fear, and faulty analysis of outcomes and risk. Nudges can be carrots or sticks, but in healthcare, the focus is on making the right path easier to follow, reducing friction, and introducing positive reinforcements rather than penalties. Karen explains, "We work across...
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How Behavioral Economics is Transforming Healthcare Engagement with Karen Sussman Horgan VAL Health
Empowered Patient Podcast
Karen Sussman Horgan is the Co-Founder and CEO of VAL Health, a behavioral economics consulting firm that helps healthcare organizations drive engagement and nudge patients to improve their health and lifestyle choices. Behavioral economics is the science of understanding how patients make irrational choices based on biases, fear, and faulty analysis of outcomes and risk. Nudges can be carrots or sticks, but in healthcare, the focus is on making the right path easier to follow, reducing friction, and introducing positive reinforcements rather than penalties. Karen explains, "We work across...
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Transforming Provider Engagement by Using Comprehensive Data with Christine Lee AnalyticsIQ TRANSCRIPT
Empowered Patient Podcast
Christine Lee, Head of Health Strategy and Partnerships at AnalyticsIQ, focuses on helping healthcare brands and pharmaceutical companies better understand and engage with healthcare providers by taking into account data beyond their professional lives. This data-driven Provider as a Person approach analyzes the healthcare professional's personal characteristics, outside interests, decision-making style, and preferred method of communication. The goal is to foster more meaningful relationships with providers, address provider burnout, and improve patient outcomes. Christine explains,...
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Transforming Provider Engagement by Using Comprehensive Data with Christine Lee AnalyticsIQ
Empowered Patient Podcast
Christine Lee, Head of Health Strategy and Partnerships at AnalyticsIQ, focuses on helping healthcare brands and pharmaceutical companies better understand and engage with healthcare providers by taking into account data beyond their professional lives. This data-driven Provider as a Person approach analyzes the healthcare professional's personal characteristics, outside interests, decision-making style, and preferred method of communication. The goal is to foster more meaningful relationships with providers, address provider burnout, and improve patient outcomes. Christine explains,...
info_outlineFrancisco Salva, President and CEO of Azitra, Inc., is leveraging the microbial bacteria that comprise the skin microbiome and exploring novel methods to deliver precision medicines to the skin. Azitra has genetically engineered specific strains of these microbes to produce proteins that are missing in patients with skin conditions like Netherton syndrome and cancer therapy-associated rashes. These bacterial strains have the ability to get beneath the stratum corneum and turn into miniature factories to make the therapeutic proteins and help the skin return to homeostasis.
Francisco explains, "We're leveraging the billions of microbial bacteria that naturally live on us and are synergistic with our skin to help keep our skin in homeostasis or a regulated standard of existence. These bacteria makeup that are known as the skin microbiome, we have built up a library of these microbial bacteria strains commonly found on normal people and characterize them in a way that allows us to look for specific strains that may be able to deliver special proteins that may be missing or aberrantly made in the skin."
"What we're leveraging is that microbial strain’s ability to get past the outer protective layer of the skin called the stratum corneum. And these microbial strains get through that outer layer through intermittent spaces between the hair and that outer skin layer, the stratum corneum, and are able to get underneath the stratum corneum, grow, multiply, and colonize. And so by genetically engineering specific strains of these microbes, we're able to synthetically, or also known as recombinantly, make proteins that are missing in the patient's skin."
"It's a little bit newer than the gut microbiome, and the field of study is also a little bit newer. And so the development of the understanding of the microbiome, which is what they call the defined consortia of various strains that normally live on us, is not quite as well elucidated as it is in the gut microbiome. That said, our mission at Azitra isn't to try to reset the entire regulation of the entire skin microbiome, but really just leverage specific strains of these bacteria that have the ability to get underneath that external layer of the skin."
#RareDisease #OrphanDisease #Dermatology #SkinDisease #SkinDisorder #PrecisionsMedicine #PrecisionDermatology #PrecisionDerm #Netherton #NethertonSyndrome #Ichthyosis #CancerRash #EGFRiRash #EGFRiTreament
