pharmaphorum Podcast

Digital transformation as a third lever in the affordability debate, with Alfred Olivares

Technology and AI can help healthcare systems tackle the affordability challenge while ensuring patients still benefit from cutting-edge treatments.
In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Alfred Olivares, global managing partner, healthcare & medtech, at HTEC, in a conversation addressing how innovation can reach patients in a financially sustainable way.
Olivares discusses digital transformation that makes care delivery smarter, faster, and more sustainable, as well as how data-driven platforms can support pharma in negotiating outcomes-based agreements with payers like the NHS.
You can listen to episode 226 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

Towards a democratic era of medicine, with Simon Kohl

There are many efforts at the moment to transform the expensive, labour intensive, and high failure rate processes of drug discovery into automated drug design.
And Simon Kohl, founder and CEO of Latent Labs, knows this intimately. In a new episode of the pharmaphorum podcast, Kohl discusses Latent Labs’ emergence from stealth, as well as protein design and drug discovery acceleration in more detail, as well as the importance of democratizing research.
You can listen to episode 225 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

CDMOs: Their crucial role and how to select one, with Sigma Mostafa

A CDMO plays a crucial role in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries by providing comprehensive drug development and manufacturing services, enabling companies to efficiently bring new medicines to market.
In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Sigma Mostafa, CSO at KBI BioPharma, about the role of CDMOs and the important factors companies should consider when selecting one.
Mostafa sets out what a CDMO does, how they help to advance medicine into clinical and then commercial trials, and the critical role of partnership in drug development.
You can listen to episode 224 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

On US drug shortages and compounding pharmacies, with Shawn Hodges

Drug shortages are a critical issue in the US, leaving patients and healthcare providers struggling. Compounding pharmacies, however, can curb drug shortages and help lessen this growing threat to the public's health. 
In a  new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Shawn Hodges, CEO of Revelation Pharma, a nationwide network of 503A and 503B compounding pharmacies, spanning across various locations.
Hodges discusses the true state of drug shortages in the US at the moment, the essential role compounding played during COVID-19, and opportunities for policy reform.
You can listen to episode 223 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

Delving into the physics of cancer, with Lew Bender

Intra-tumourally injected therapeutics represent a novel approach to cancer cell death, with high tumour dispersion and cell penetration properties.
To discuss the potential of these therapeutics to kill tumours and elicit an adaptive immune response within mere days of injection, pharmaphorum spoke with Lew Bender, CEO of Intensity Therapeutics Inc.
Bender discusses the possibility of shifting the oncological treatment paradigm with intra-tumourally injected therapeutics, even for cancers that do not respond to immunotherapy, as well as how a business-trained mindset has led to outside-the-box – perhaps zigzagging – learnings.
You can listen to episode 222 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

On inflammation, heart health, and GLP-1 possibilities, with Sandeep Kulkarni

There is a growing body of evidence on the role of inflammation in predicting heart health.
In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh spoke with Sandeep Kulkarni, CEO of Tourmaline Bio, about addressing inflammation, and also the impact of AI and GLP-1s on cardiology clinical trials and drug development.
Kulkarni also discusses Tourmaline’s IL-6 inhibitor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and his hopes for the future of this field of research.
You can listen to episode 221 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

On digital twins in rare disease research, with Piet van der Graaf

With over 7,000 rare diseases affecting an estimated 30 million people in the US alone, these conditions have long been underfunded and under-researched, leaving patients with limited options. However, virtual trials are emerging as a breakthrough. 
In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh is joined by Piet van der Graaf, Senior VP at Certara – a company providing predictive simulation, data-driven modelling, and AI tailored for drug development – for a conversation on the potential of digital twins in rare disease research and drug development.
You can listen to episode 220 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

The hot topics of digitisation, with Rob Verheul

Graphite Digital’s study of 100 senior pharma leaders across Europe and North America earlier this year investigated organisations’ attitudes towards hot industry topics, including – of course – AI, omnichannel, and globalisation.
So it was pharmaphorum web editor Nicole Raleigh welcomed Graphite Digital’s CEO, Rob Verheul, to the podcast as guest, in order to discuss digital strategy and the Salesforce-Veeva split.
Verheul also comments on customer journey optimization and the role of personalisation in circumventing  the risks of legacy systems, siloed teams, and inconsistent data.
You can listen to episode 219 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

Ten years of innovation at Frontiers Health – Live from Berlin with Jessica DaMassa

Last week in Berlin the Frontiers Health Conference celebrated its 10th Anniversary with a whirlwind two days of panels and presentations from founders, executives, and patients across the healthcare ecosystem.
Whilst there, pharmaphorum editor-in-chief Jonah Comstock and web editor Nicole Raleigh, together with Frontiers Health co-host Jessica DaMassa, met up on-site immediately after the event came to a close in order to discuss their key takeaways. There was also some reminiscence from across the decade that Frontiers Health has been running.
In this 30-minute reaction podcast, hear about just a few of the many interesting threads discussed at the conference:
How patients are finding new ways to lead in the search for cures
How pharma companies and start-ups alike are responding to global policy forces
The past, present, and future of what we once called digital health
And the question of who will own healthcare in our rapidly emerging AI future
Listen now to the whole conversation, and stay tuned to our Frontiers Health 2025 landing page for further videos and articles yet to come from the event.

Working together to innovate on pragmatic clinical trials, with Rob DiCicco

Process innovation in the pharmaceutical industry is never easy, but its best chance of success comes when companies come together to work on big problems – especially when they bring in regulators and other stakeholders.
 
In today’s episode of the pharmaphorum podcast, host Jonah Comstock speaks with Rob DiCicco, vice president of portfolio management at TransCelerate Biopharma, a membership organisation where big pharma companies work together to innovate around the discovery, development, and manufacturing of new drugs.
 
DiCicco gives an update on TransCelerate’s work with pragmatic trials and the group’s meetings last year with the FDA. He discusses what pragmatic trials are and how they can improve the efficiency of clinical research, as well as describing the work that was done at the meeting last year and the report that’s come out of it.
 
He also gets into next steps, how the new administration has and hasn’t affected the work TransCelerate is doing with the FDA, and the role TransCelerate plays in taking these recommendation and putting them into practice.
 
Tune in to learn how the pharma industry is working together to change the way clinical trials are done.