The coronavirus pandemic has altered virtually every aspect of life. Pharmaceutical research, specifically clinical trials, are no exception. To slow the virus’ spread, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended social distancing — essentially, avoiding close contact with others.
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.
The at-home isolation and social distancing orders for millions of Americans is a vital element to slow to the COVID-19 pandemic. With most of our daily activities on-hold or modified for the foreseeable future, medical research is a crucial pursuit that continues despite the current environment.
Considerations for Feasibility for Translational Research
For many researchers, considering the feasibility of a translational study with Sanguine Biosciences is a crucial yet challenging step. The proposed study they submit might not be possible based on real-world evidence or Sanguine’s service offerings, requiring them to modify their criteria.
The global search for a treatment targeting the novel coronavirus has led to an unlikely potential savior: a cocoa-colored llama named Winter, whose blood could hold a weapon to blunt the virus.
She lives at a research farm in Belgium with about 130 other llamas and alpacas.
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?
