Harsha Rajasimha, MS, PhD, Founder, Jeeva Informatics Solutions, Inc.; Founder and Chairman, IndoUSrare; Co-Director, Rare Diseases Systems Biology Initiative, George Mason University
After losing a child to a rare congenital disease, Dr. Rajasimha became determined to apply his clinical genomics data research experience to develop solutions to help accelerate clinical research leading to faster cures for rare disease.
Over the past twenty years, the world has faced several infectious disease outbreaks including; Ebola, Influenza A (H1N1), SARS, MERS, Zika virus and now COVID-19. With over 200k deaths worldwide, COVID-19 has brought an enormous strain on our health resources, but also has had a massive impact on human health and the economy.
In early March 2020, Seattle was considered to be a “hot spot” for the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States. A month later, Washington was one of the first states to have demonstrated success at “flattening the curve”. This presentation will explore important lessons learned that might be of value to other jurisdictions and what challenges we still face as we transition into the “post peak” phase of the epidemic in the Puget Sound.
Edith Pfister, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Medical
This talk will cover the basics of therapies designed to lower huntingtin: what do we know and what don’t we know. It will introduce the basic mechanisms of huntingtin lowering and gene therapy.
Transcript
John:
We would like to welcome you to the Sanguine Speaker Series webinar, The Journey From Patient to Advocate to Leader: Changing the Clinical Research Game, presented by Rob Long. Rob is the executive director of Uplifting Athletes. I will now hand it over to Rob.
COVID-19 has put the biopharma industry into a tailspin – big pharma, biotech and small startups are all emerging in the development of a treatment and vaccine for this pandemic. Will COVID-19 change the current R&D landscape and create a new norm for the biopharma industry?
COVID-19 has spread to more than 60 countries, causing tens of thousands of illnesses and thousands of deaths. Pharma companies, biotechs, governments, academic institutions, nonprofits and others are all racing to develop a treatment, a cure and a vaccine.
In this Sanguine Speaker Series (3) virtual fireside chat, we will discuss:
Response efforts to the current COVID-19 pandemic
How does the race for the cure affect the hundreds of other drugs in development
COVID-19’s potential impact on the global pharmaceutical market?
Speaker: Kelly M. Knee, PhD, Senior Principal Scientist, Rare Disease Researcher Unit, Pfizer
Sickle cell disease is a severe genetic disorder caused by a single point mutation on the β-chain of adult hemoglobin (Hb A), β6 Glu→Val (Hb S). Numerous small molecules which covalently bind to Hb S have been evaluated clinically, however, the molecules that have demonstrated clinical efficacy all carry a reactive aldehyde group.
COVID-19 has spread to more than 60 countries, causing tens of thousands of illnesses and thousands of deaths. Pharma companies, biotechs, governments, academic institutions, nonprofits and others are all racing to develop a treatment, a cure and a vaccine.
Moderator:
Craig Lipset
Independent Advisor, Former Head of Clinical Innovation, Pfizer
Panelists:
Brian Neman
CEO and Co-Founder, Sanguine
Lisa Tindell
Vice President, Clinical Research Operations at Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation
Sal Salamone
Editor in Chief, RTInsights.com
Author Sarah Gray shares her story of how she anonymously donated her infant son’s post-mortem tissue for biomedical research to some of the most prestigious scientific facilities in the country. Years later, after tracking down each donation, Sarah met with the research scientists that received the donations to learn how they are being studied in cutting-edge research for medical discoveries.
