BioTech Nation ... with Dr. Moira Gunn

On this episode of BioTech Nation, we look back at the first on-record interview with Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, recorded at KQED studios in 2005. At the time of the interview, Holmes was just 21 years old, and her company had already received almost $6 million in funding from investors. Now, over two decades have passed, and Elizabeth Holmes is serving time in prison for fraud. Revisiting the interview today, what can it tell us about where things went wrong?

On this episode of BioTech Nation...
Dr. Harry Selker & Dr. Atul Deshpande of Immediate Therapeutics speak with Moira about a new treatment that could be administered to heart attack patients right away...potentially before they even arrive at the hospital. Already successfully tested in Phase 2, it’s ready to go into final pivotal trials in Ambulances and Emergency Rooms.

This week on BioTech Nation, what is AI-Powered Biology? Dr. Shana Kelley, President of Bioengineering and Head of Biohub, Chicago for the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, discusses how AI can be used to accelerate research, interpret data, and transform how new discoveries are made.

This week on Biotech Nation, Heather Turner of LB Pharmaceuticals joins to discuss a drug that’s new to the US, but not-so-new to Europe, where it’s already been in use for a couple of years. Intended for managing neuropsychiatric conditions like Schizophrenia, the drug is taken by several million people, but the approval process in the US has had to start back at square one. We look at why that is, and how LB is working on it.

When you think of FUJIFILM, you might be picturing rolls of camera film...but it turns out that's not all they've been working on. FUJIFILM Biotechnologies Chairman Toshi Iida joins to share more about how they're innovating in the world of biotech.

What if chemotherapy could be delivered in a focused way, directly to a tumor, and only where it's needed? Intensity Therapeutics Founder, President, & CEO Lew Bender shares how they're working to change how chemotherapy is delivered to solid tumors, personalized for each patient, with the hopes of reducing the toll it takes on the body.

This week on BioTech Nation, Jeff Liter of Luminary Therapeutics shares how his team is taking a new approach to advanced cell therapy, in the hopes of making it more accessible and affordable. Rather than formulating a custom treatment using a patient's own cells, they use healthy donor cells that are ready to go. This approach could help more people get treated for cancer and autoimmune diseases like lupus, with just a single dose.

On this episode of Biotech Nation...the story of how the United States' pharmaceutical industry came to be, and the people behind it all. Barry Werth joins Moira to discuss his new book, “The Age of Cures: How American Scientists Saved Your Life", about a handful of individuals who revolutionized research and helped build the drug development ecosystem we have today.

On this episode of BioTech Nation...Dr. James Mackay joins to talk about the progress Crystalys Therapeutics is making in the treatment of gout - a disease that affects more than 13 million people in the United States alone. Dr. Mackay debunks some common misconceptions surrounding the disease, and explains what Crystalys is doing to change the way doctors treat gout going forward.

You've probably heard of Peptides...but what exactly are they? And how do we know which ones are effective, and safe? Dr. Karsten Eastman, Co-Founder and CEO of Sethera Therapeutics, joins to answer all our questions about Peptides, and to tell us about Sethera's latest efforts to enhance peptides to make new medicines. Their plan: to develop a drug using enhanced peptides for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer... and they've already received funding.

This week on BioTech Nation, Sameer Sabir, CEO of Brixton Biosciences, shares how their breakthrough injectable cold therapy, Neural Ice, could offer lasting relief for osteoarthritis pain. With a drug-free, nerve-targeting approach currently in clinical trials, this innovation may change how we treat joint pain without pills or repeated steroid injections.

Imagine a world where the toughest wounds heal twice as fast, and patients get their lives back sooner than anyone thought possible. Dr. Ned Swanson, the President and Chief Medical Officer of Polarity Bio, tells us about their approach to healing serious, hard-to-treat skin wounds. In early trials, it's twice as effective as the current treatment for diabetic foot ulcers.

Can you imagine parents expecting a baby, going in for an ultrasound, and finding out that their baby is missing the heart's left ventricle? This week on BioTech Nation, we hear Dr. Joshua Hare, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Longeveron, talk about how they are testing the use of stem cells to treat babies born with a serious congenital heart defect.

This week on BioTech Nation, we explore a new approach to cancer treatment that could help patients manage pain without compromising their care. Dr. Lorin Johnson, CSO of Glycyx Therapeutics explains how a new once-daily pill could help patients manage pain without blocking their treatment.

This week on BioTech Nation, Dr. Jeff Stein, President & CEO of Cidara Therapeutics, brings up promising news about a new approach to flu shots.

On this episode of BioTech Nation, Dr. Will Decker and Jay Hartenbach join Moira to talk about Diakonos Oncology's unique approach to cancer immunotherapy, and how a discovery made over two decades ago started it all. Now, with a new drug entering Phase II human trials for Glioblastoma treatment, that discovery could mean a pathway to treating aggressive cancers...

This week on BioTech Nation, Dr. Steve Harr, CEO of Sana Biotechnology, talks about their progress in Type I diabetics, in particular. The New England Journal of Medicine publishes early success with Sana Biotechnology's engineered insulin-producing cells without the need for immunosuppressant drugs.

On this episode of BioTech Nation...The Biotech landscape is ever-evolving - but where are we headed?? Dr. Jeremy Levin, Physician, Bioentrepreneur, and Former Chair of BIO, joins Moira to talk about the future of Biotech from the front lines of the industry - from understanding the global Bioeconomy, to preparing for the next pandemic, and how government policy is impacting innovation.
His book is, "Biotech in the Balance: Saving a Strategic Industry in an Age of Distrust".

This week on BioTech Nation, a call to a man who survived hundreds of venomous snake bites helps inspire the development of an antivenom vaccine. Biotech Entrepreneur, Dr. Jake Glanville, Founder, Chair and CEO of Centivax, gives us the insider’s view of this Biotech Breakthrough – from the first telephone call through each significant step, all leading to the first breakthrough generalized antivenom vaccine in 125 years.

On this week's BioTech Nation, Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent Dr. Daniel Kraft tells us about the trend of "hospital-at-home". As we see the expansion of remote healthcare technologies, could the future of hospital-like care be as on-demand as a food delivery app?