Medical Insights from Industry

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"Insights from Industry" is a dynamic series of interviews at the cutting edge of the medical industry. Every interviewee is a leader in their particular field and is handpicked to give an informative and accessible insight into their chosen field. These interviews are guaranteed to keep you in the know in a rapidly changing industry.

Pain control in osteoarthritis patients

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common causes of disability, and inadequate pain control can lead to joint stiffness that may impair mobility for patients.

9 Jul 2014

Fabry disease awareness: an interview with Dr. Hartmann Wellhoefer, Head of Medical Affairs, Rare Disease, Shire

Lysosomes are subcellular organelles that are present in most cells, with the major exception of red blood cells.

8 Jul 2014

Treating ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are idiopathic (we don’t know the cause) inflammatory diseases (IBD) of the colon and/or small bowel. They are chronic in that we do not have a medical cure and are differentiated from IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) by inflammation that causes ulcerations of the GI tract.

7 Jul 2014

Preventing antibiotic side effects: an interview with Florence Séjourné, CEO, Da Volterra

Like all drugs, antibiotics can have side-effects when administered to people. The most common (and often benign) side effect people experience when taking antibiotics is “associated diarrhea”. This illustrates the fact that antibiotics have an impact on the intestine!

25 Jun 2014

Evolution of multiple sclerosis treatments: an interview with Mike Panzara, Head of MS & Neurology Clinical Development, Genzyme

The last 20 years have been defined by progress and innovation in the multiple sclerosis (MS) field, with now 10 approved treatment options available for people living with relapsing MS, the most common form of the disease.

17 Jun 2014

Using placental cells to repair damaged tissues: an interview with Zami Aberman, CEO, Pluristem Therapeutics

We start with birth and we collect the cells after C-section. The reason for that is we have to have the mother sign a consent letter that she is donating the placenta and, on top of that, we have to have a blood sample from the mother to test for any viral contamination.

16 Jun 2014

Polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (PJIA): an interview with Dr. Kramer, VP, Immunology and Infectious Diseases Medical Unit, Genentech

Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (PJIA) is a type of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), a group of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) diseases that manifests in multiple ways in children.

3 Jun 2014

Half-life extension technology: an interview with Dermot Pearson, Novozymes Biopharma

A drug's half-life indicates how long a substance will remain active in the body. It is essentially the period of time that it takes for the concentration of the amount of the drug to be reduced by half, and therefore, determines how frequently a drug needs to be administered to maintain its therapeutic effect.

27 May 2014

Telemedicine in action: an interview with Ian Jackson, Managing Director, Imerja

Telemedicine is a term used to describe the use of information technology in delivering curative or clinical care healthcare, allowing medical specialists to communicate with patients and other medical staff, regardless of their physical location.

21 May 2014

The future of high throughput screening: an interview with Mark Wigglesworth, Director High Throughput Screening, AstraZeneca

Quoting Mike Snowden (VP & Head of Discovery Sciences, AstraZeneca), “it’s where biology meets chemistry”. It’s where for the first time a target protein can be probed for novel molecules that modulate its function, of course we want to do this to prove a hypothesis that these proteins are drug targets with the potential to deliver innovative medicines.

20 May 2014

DNA-directed RNA interference and hepatitis C: an interview with Carl Stubbings, Chief Business Officer, Benitec Biopharma

RNA interference (RNAi) is a naturally occurring process, which cells can use to silence, or ‘turn off’ unwanted genes.

From Quest Diagnostics 19 May 2014

Autoimmune epilepsy diagnostics: an interview with Dr. Joseph J. Higgins, Medical Director, Neurology, Athena Diagnostics, a business of Quest Diagnostics

Epilepsy is a group of neurological disorders often characterized by seizures and cognitive impairment due to electrical disturbances in the brain.

From Quest Diagnostics 14 May 2014

Controlling low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels: an interview with Jay Edelberg, M.D., Sanofi and Bill Sasiela, Ph.D., Regeneron

Lipids, primarily cholesterol and triglycerides, come from two sources: what is naturally manufactured in the liver and what comes from the intestines through the diet.

From Sanofi 7 May 2014

Trends, opportunities and threats in the life science industry: an interview with Bob Coughlin, CEO, MassBio

We were extremely excited to launch the Impact 2020 report at our annual meeting. Our five-year strategic plan is focused on value, early-stage financing and ensuring more patient-centered discussions.

5 May 2014

Restoring vision in patients with retinitis pigmentosa: an interview with Dr. Gregoire Cosendai, Vice President, Europe, Second Sight

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a progressive eye disease that leads to untreatable blindness. The name of the disease derives from the fact that one of the areas affected by the disease is the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in the back of the eye.

30 Apr 2014

The rising incidence of multi-drug resistant TB: an interview with Dr Myriam Haxaire-Theeuwes, Compound Development Team Leader, Janssen

MDR-TB is on the rise in a number of regions in the world, because progress towards targets for diagnosis and treatment of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) is far off-track.

29 Apr 2014

Sleep and metabolic disorders: an interview with Professor Bernd Schultes, eSwiss Medical and Surgical Centre, St Gallen, Switzerland

Metabolic disorders are alterations in metabolic processes that can cause harm to a subject. The most common disorders affect the glucose and lipid metabolism causing diabetes and dyslipidemia. Another common disorder is obesity that affects many distinct metabolic processes.

23 Apr 2014