The Bio Report

It seems to be strange times when people feel the need to take to the streets to voice their support for science, but that’s what happened earlier this month as the second annual March for Science was held in Washington, D.C. and 250 other cities around the world. To mark the occasion, we spoke to Mary Woolley, CEO of Research!Amercia, about the public perception of science, the state of funding for science in the United States, and why scientist increasingly feel the need to step off the sidelines to advocate for what they do.

The global demand for meat is rising as is concerns about the health dangers, environmental toll, and animal welfare issues related to the way we produce meat today. The Good Food Institute is a nonprofit working with scientists, investors, and entrepreneurs to advance efforts to make clean meat and plant-based alternatives a commercial reality. We spoke to Liz Specht, senior scientist for The Good Food Institute, about the problems with meat production today, efforts to develop alternatives, and the role biotechnology can play in creating healthier, safer, and more humane sources of meat.

Familial hypercholesterolemia, or FH, is an inherited disorder that leads to premature cardiovascular disease. It can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and the narrowing of heart valves. In people with the condition, genetic mutations impair the ability of the liver to metabolize excess fats. While an estimated 1.3 million people in the United States have FH, only about 10 percent are diagnosed. We spoke to Katherine Wilemon, founder and CEO of the FH Foundation, about the condition, why so many people are undiagnosed, and why patients face significant barriers getting access to a new class of promising drugs to treat the condition.

While most drug developers have sought to target aberrant genes or the proteins driving diseases, Syros Pharmaceuticals has developed a proprietary platform that targets the regulatory region of DNA to not only turn genes on or off but modulate their activity as well. The company is initially focusing on cancer and monogenic diseases. We spoke to Nancy Simonian, CEO of Syros, about the company’s platform technology, the opportunities in targeting regulators of genes, and why this could represent a broad new approach to treating diseases.

A sharp spike in generic drug prices that triggered an investigation in Connecticut continues to deepen. The antitrust case that alleges price-fixing and widespread collusion between generic drug companies to divvy up markets and avoid competition has now grown to include attorneys general in 49 states seeking action against 18 companies and two executives for activity involving an expanding list of widely-used drugs. We spoke to Joseph Nielsen, assistant attorney general in the Antitrust Department of the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General, about the case, how it has evolved, and its implications for generic drugmakers, consumers, and the healthcare system.

Rural counties in the United States have seen a steady loss of hospital-based obstetric services. A new study published in JAMA that looked at nearly 5 million births in almost 1,100 rural U.S. counties found a connection between the loss of these services and eroding outcomes for newborns and their mothers. We spoke to Carrie Henning-Smith, deputy director of the University of Minnesota’s Rural Health Research Center and co-author of the JAMA study, about the findings, their implications, and what can be done to address eroding healthcare for women giving birth in rural America.

The convergence of technology and life sciences, changing consumer behavior, and increasing pricing pressures on drug and device makers are forcing these companies to rethink business models and how they derive value from their products, according to a new EY Progressions 2018 report. The report argues that life sciences companies will no longer be able to rely exclusively on product-centric innovations, which face diminishing returns as health systems wrestle with cost constraints. We spoke to Pamela Spence, EY global life sciences industry leader, about the report, what a growing trend in collaborations between technology and healthcare companies may say about where the industry is heading, and why the future of life sciences companies may be as health technology companies.

Matthew Levy worked in the biopharmaceutical industry in human resources when he was confronted with a life-changing event. A doctor told him he had advanced cancer and just 90 days to live. An aggressive treatment regimen saved him, but it also led Levy to rethink his life. Now a motivational speaker and executive coach, Levy is trying to help others who may have settled into safe and comfortable jobs but find them unfulfilling. We spoke to Levy about his experiences, how it changed him, and what others could do to make turning points in their lives without having to face death.

Despite the often remarkable advances in cancer therapies, radiation is still widely used to treat a variety of cancers. Nanobiotix believes it can make radiation therapy more effective by injecting its nanomedicines into tumors to amplify the effects of radiation without damaging healthy tissue. We spoke to Laurent Levy, CEO of Nanobiotix, about the company’s technology, how it works, and why it may be broadly applicable to a wide range of cancers.

As medical advances have helped extend lifespans, older people still experience a decline in quality of life in their later years as a result of diseases associated with aging. This can cause a loss of independence, isolation, and suffering. The Biogerontology Research Foundation, a United Kingdom-based nonprofit, is funding work to understand the molecular and cellular processes of aging and develop biotechnological interventions to halt or reverse damage from it. We spoke to Franco Cortese, deputy director of The Biogerontology Research Foundation, about a new report it’s issued that characterizes the longevity and geroscience landscape today, areas of research that hold promise, and why aging might best be thought of as a disease.