Seres Therapeutics has redesigned their SER-109 clinical study of a fecal transplant aiming to treat Clostridium difficile infection, which failed last July, and will re-initiate it, with FDA’s guidance. Seres is the first publicly held microbiome-focused company, and, if approved, SER-109 would be the first approved microbiome therapeutic in this new field of medicine. (Industry Dive)
Big Data + clinical trials may guide future treatment decisions
Only about 3 percent of oncology patients participate in clinical trials, and there are substantial demographic disparities between trial participants and the general population, making it difficult to extrapolate study results to make evidence-based treatment recommendations and predict real-world benefits. According to Clifford Hudis, M.D., CEO of ASCO, this calls for a need to explore health technology solutions that tap into real-world data, such as big data sets and evidence from prospective research studies, to predict successful cancer treatment. (OncLive)
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Organs “made to order” for testing toxic warfighter countermeasures
The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) implanted the first laboratory-grown organ in 1999, and is now exploring bioprinting technologies for the development of warfighter countermeasures. They are utilizing the technology to develop interconnected human organoids that they will use to test the safety and pharmacological effects of Department of Defense threat agents, which cannot be tested in humans due to their high toxicity. (dvidshub.net)
The present and future of genetic counseling: an interview with Emily Quinn, a certified genetic counselor. Part 3
Interview and article by Tatsiana “Tanya” Verstak* Part 3: Utilizing genetic information in clinical care Tanya Verstak For the most part, are people trusting genetic information and do they want to have this testing done? Emily Quinn I think so. Probably the big concern in our field is that I Read more
Fast Company ranks Apple #2 as Most Innovative Company in the Health sector
Apple Computers came in at #2 in Fast Company’s list of The Most Innovative Companies of 2017 in the Health Sector, “for mining data to build health apps.” In March 2016, Apple announced CareKit, an open-source platform that makes it easier to developers to aggregate and share patients’ medical information with their caregivers. Since its launch less than one year ago, CareKit has been used to make apps to help patients manage diabetes, monitor depression, track reproductive health, and record asthma symptoms. (Fast Company)
San Diego startup Veyo corners the market for providing non-emergency healthcare transportation
Each year, 3.6 million Americans miss or delay medical care due to transportation issues. Ride-sharing apps have been cited as one of three technologies disrupting healthcare logistics. San Diego-based Veyo is adapting Uber-like, on demand technologies specifically for healthcare needs. The one-year old startup provides non-emergency medical transport (NEMT) services to their customers, and currently provides rides for Medicaid beneficiaries in six states. (HealthcareDIVE)
A Legacy for the Ladies: 10 Phenomenal Female Scientists We Lost in 2016
-by Madison Arenchild, Clinical Research Currents contributor If you didn’t know them in life, get to know them in legacy. These 10 women that we lost in 2016 were pioneers in their fields and barrier-breakers for female scientists across the globe. Suzanne Corkin, American Professor of Neuroscience at MIT Suzanne Read more
Can We Match NASA’s Apollo 11 Success? Checking in on Biden’s Cancer Moonshot 2020 Initiative
by Madison Arenchild, freelancer for Clinical Research Currents “..we have examined where we are strong and where we are not, where we may succeed and where we may not. Now it is time to take longer strides–time for a great new American enterprise–time for this nation to take a clearly Read more
CEO of The One Health Company promotes new approach to clinical trials at World Economic Forum
Christina Lopes, the CEO and cofounder of The One Health Company, explained at the World Economic Forum in Davos that her company seeks to use pet dogs and cats suffering from the kinds of conditions that pharmaceutical companies are developing treatments for in humans (such as bone cancer, lymphoma) for animal trials as part of drug development. The rationale is that the canine genome more closely resembles humans than the mouse genome. And pharma companies can use the data for R&D.
San Diego Tech Startup, CureMatch, is Revolutionizing Precision Medicine in Oncology
-by Madison Arenchild, special to Clinical Research Currents For medical professionals, making course of treatment decisions for the 1.6 million new cancer diagnoses made each year in the US alone is an extremely difficult undertaking. This decision is further complicated by the heterogeneous nature of tumor make-up and behavior and Read more