Xtalks Life Science Podcast Xtalks

In this episode, Ayesha spoke with Jerry McLaughlin, chief executive officer and board member of Life Biosciences, a company advancing innovative cellular rejuvenation platforms to reverse diseases of aging.
Life Biosciences is developing a gene therapy for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), two types of optic neuropathies with significant unmet needs. The company is developing innovative therapies for these indications that are based on innovative partial epigenetic reprogramming and chaperone-mediated autophagy technologies.
Jerry McLaughlin has over 30 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and has been involved in the discovery, clinical development and global commercialization of more than a dozen FDA-approved drugs with multiple successful exits. Jerry began his career at Merck and was extensively involved in multiple blockbuster product launches. Most recently, Jerry was President and CEO for Neos Therapeutics, Inc., a commercial stage pharmaceutical company. He holds a BA in economics from Dickinson College and an MBA from the Villanova School of Business.
Tune into the episode to learn more about the work Jerry is leading at Life Biosciences to better understand and target the biology of aging through innovative therapeutics for aging-related diseases with critical unmet medical needs.
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In this episode, Ayesha spoke with Karen S. Ho, PhD, Vice President, Translational Medicine at Clene Nanomedicine, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases to restore and protect neuronal health and function.
Clene Nanomedicine is developing nanotherapeutics that target cellular energy impairments common to neurodegenerative and many other diseases. Specifically, the company’s lead asset is based on leveraging the catalytic therapeutic activities of gold when engineered as clean-surfaced faceted nanocrystals.
At Clene Nanomedicine, Dr. Ho directs the translation of preclinical successes of Clene’s lead drug assets into high clinical value with applicability to multiple disease areas. Dr. Ho has a PhD in Developmental Biology from Stanford and completed her postdoctoral training as a National Sleep Foundation Pickwick Scholar and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Neuroscience. Dr. Ho serves on several rare disease group Scientific Advisory Boards and holds a concurrent position as adjunct faculty at the University of Utah School of Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics.
Tune into the episode to learn about Clene Nanomedicines’ innovative gold nanocrystal technology and how Dr. Ho is leading its development in diseases like ALS and Multiple Sclerosis. Also hear about Dr. Ho’s journey in the biopharmaceutical industry, including a touching personal story.
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In this episode, Ayesha spoke with Marci English, Vice President and Head of BioPharma Development at Astellas Pharma about a groundbreaking new treatment that addresses the underlying mechanisms of menopause symptoms.
In May 2023, Astellas received FDA approval for fezolinetant (commercial name Veozah) for the treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms due to menopause. The therapy is the first nonhormonal neurokinin 3 (NK3) receptor antagonist approved to treat vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause, which include hot flashes and night sweats.
Tune into the episode to learn about the latest on fezolinetant one year after its approval, including its reception from healthcare providers and patients.
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In this episode, Ayesha spoke with Lawrence Blatt, PhD, MBA, Chairman and CEO of Aligos Therapeutics, a company developing targeted therapies for liver diseases like MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis) and viral diseases to address important unmet medical needs.
Prior to co-founding Aligos Therapeutics, Dr. Blatt served as the Global Head of Infectious Diseases and Vaccines at Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson from 2014 to 2018. He also co-founded several biotech companies, including Alios BioPharma, which was acquired by Janssen in November 2014. Dr. Blatt previously served on the board of directors of companies including ReViral Ltd. and Alveo Technologies, Inc., which he co-founded in 2014, and Meissa Vaccines, Inc. Dr. Blatt received an MBA from California State University, Northridge, and a PhD in Public Health Administration from the University of La Verne.
In March, Aligos announced the dosing of its first patient in its Phase IIa trial for a novel thyroid hormone receptor-beta agonist (ALG-055009) designed to address the root fibrosis of MASH. The drug is in the same class as Rezdiffra, which was approved this year as the first treatment for MASH.
Aligos also shared positive data at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Congress last month in Milan, Italy for one of its candidate therapeutics for chronic hepatitis B (CHB).
Tune into the episode to learn more about the work Dr. Blatt is leading at Aligos Therapeutics in chronic liver disease and viral diseases.
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In this episode, Ayesha spoke with Alessio Travaglia, PhD, Director Neuroscience at the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) who also manages FNIH’s new Accelerating Medicines Partnership in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (AMP ALS) program, and Nadia Sethi, DDS, an ALS patient advocate who formerly served as Director of Community Outreach and Engagement at the ALS Therapy Development Institute.
Dr. Travaglia has 15 years of experience in basic and translational neuroscience in academia, non-profit, management consulting and venture philanthropy. Dr. Sethi is a patient advocate with strong leadership skills, experienced in patient outreach and representing advocacy organizations. She was a caregiver to her late husband who had ALS.
Last month, the FNIH launched a new AMP ALS research program designed to accelerate the discovery and development of treatment and diagnostics for ALS. The goals of the initiative include the faster identification of biomarkers and clinical outcome assessments that will may aid in earlier diagnosis and help accelerate drug development.
ALS is a neurologic disease with severely limited treatment options, none of which halt or reverse the progression of the fatal condition.
To learn more about the FNIH’s new AMP ALS program, including the continuing importance of patient advocacy and inclusion of the patient and caregiver voice in ALS research, tune into the discussion with Dr. Travaglia and Dr. Sethi.
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In this episode, Ayesha spoke with Joshua Cohen and Justin Klee, co-CEOs and co-founders of Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, a company developing therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Josh and Justin co-founded Amylyx Pharmaceuticals in 2013. Josh co-invented the oral, fixed-dose combination AMX0035 (known commercially as Albrioza in Canada and Relyvrio in the US), which is being explored for the potential treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. With a background in biomedical engineering, Josh is passionate about improving outcomes where there is a significant unmet need by pursuing research into novel drug candidates for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Justin previously conducted research in neural systems in the Moore lab at Brown University and in neurophysiology and Alzheimer’s disease under Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, founding member of Amylyx’ Scientific Advisory Board, at Harvard Medical School to explore new approaches to treating relentlessly progressive neurodegenerative diseases.
In 2020, Josh and Justin were named to Business Insider’s 30 Under 40 in Healthcare list and PM360’s ELITE in the Drug Researchers and Developers category among the many other awards they have won throughout their careers thus far.
Josh and Justin have overseen the growth of Amylyx from its start as a concept dreamed up in a dorm room at Brown University to a global, commercial stage and publicly traded pharmaceutical company hundreds of employees and headquarters in the US, Canada and the Netherlands to support Amylyx’s global operations.
Josh and Justin led the global regulatory approvals of AMX0035 for the treatment of ALS in Canada and the US. In April, Amylyx decided to remove the drug from the US and Canadian markets based on data from a confirmatory trial.
Tune into the episode to learn more about Amylyx’s plans for AMX0035, which include investigations in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and Wolfram syndrome.
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