Share
Conversations in Healthcare
The past, present and future of next generation sequencing
Season 1, Ep. 25
•
In this fireside chat brought to you by Conversations in Healthcare, Mike Ward, Global Head of Thought Leadership at DRG talks to Nick McCooke, CEO of Longas Technologies. Having been at the forefront of developing next generation sequencing, Nick talks to Mike about his past work, current projects and future predictions for this key technology in the life sciences space. He explains the process and journey he went on to trigger the creation of Solexa, which was later acquired by Illumina, and how next generation sequencing developed and transformed the marketplace after this acquisition. Nick also explains the role NGS has played in the development of Covid-19 solutions around the world, including mapping the viral genome and tracking subsequent mutations. They go onto the discuss the long-read sequencing platform Longas Technologies is currently working on and how this could advance NGS even. Nick also gives his predictions on where NGS could go next, and how it’ll continue to develop and benefit the patient.
More episodes
View all episodes
1. Lighting the touch paper for next generation nucleic acid therapies
32:06||Season 2, Ep. 1In this episode Mike Ward, Clarivate’s Head of Thought Leadership for Life sciences and healthcare, spoke to Johnny Ohlson, Founder of Touchlight, a company who has developed a novel synthetic DNA vector. In recent years, we've seen that by harnessing the power of DNA, it has been possible to achieve success in treating previously incurable hereditary diseases and even tackle major pandemics. However, whether the answer is cell or gene therapies or RNA vaccines, one thing they all have in common is that they require DNA in some form or another as the starting material. Through Touchlight, Johnny Ohlson and his talented team have built a business that can make DNA at unprecedented speed, scale and purity. Johnny, a serial entrepreneur not originally from a biopharma background, shares with us his story of breaking successfully into a complex industry. This podcast demonstrates that innovation at its heart is more about a combination of vision, relationships and talented people rather than prior experience.
46. Realizing the patient-friendly future of clinical trials
23:02||Season 1, Ep. 46In this episode of Conversations in Healthcare, Ergomed founder Dr. Miroslav Reljanović talks to Mike Ward about how the COVID-19 pandemic has nudged clinical trials towards greater efficiency and inclusivity – and what’s needed to make good on this promising trend.
45. How Patient Connect addresses unmet needs at the point of care
22:32||Season 1, Ep. 45In this episode of Conversations in Healthcare, Mike Ward speaks with Dr. Grace Lomax, Clinical Director at Patient Connect, a part of Clarivate. Grace’s experience as a physician highlighted numerous unmet needs beyond just clinical issues – especially around healthcare literacy, education at the point of care, adherence and more. She discusses how Patient Connect uses technology and communication strategies to inform and support patients at the point of care, and shares examples of campaigns that improved outcomes in cancer, hypertension, rare disease and asthma.
44. Social determinants: barriers to healthcare impacting racial and ethnic minorities
45:59||Season 1, Ep. 44In this episode of Conversations in Healthcare, Matthew Arnold, Principal Analyst at Clarivate speaks with Dr. Kenton Johnston, Associate Professor of Health Management and Policy at Saint Louis University about disparities in the US health system. Matthew and Ken discuss both the historical context as well as the evolution of the system since the establishment of the Affordable Care Act, and how the entire spectrum of the healthcare system can work to address social determinants of health. Learn more in the full episode.
43. How Novo Ventures prioritized their investment strategy during the pandemic
25:50||Season 1, Ep. 43In this episode of Conversations in Healthcare, Mike Ward speaks with Naveed Saddiqi, Senior Partner at Novo Ventures, one of the largest venture capital groups in the life sciences sector. Naveed shares about the firm’s mandate to generate funds for the Novo Nordisk Foundation, how the pandemic impacted their investment strategy and what excites him most in the life sciences industry. Learn more in the full episode, which was recorded in collaboration with One Nucleus's ON Helix conference (June 2021).
42. How Healx uses AI to transform rare disease drug discovery
27:52||Season 1, Ep. 42In this episode of Conversations in Healthcare, Mike Ward speaks with Dr. Tim Guilliams, the co-founder and CEO of Healx. Healx is an artificial intelligence-powered technology company that's dedicated to helping rare disease patients access life improving treatments. Mike and Tim discuss the company’s innovative approach to drug discovery, choosing which rare diseases to target and how patients are shaping their priorities. Learn more in the full episode, which was recorded in collaboration with One Nucleus's ON Helix conference (June 2021).
41. How the pandemic shifted Roche’s priorities and R&D investments
31:20||Season 1, Ep. 41In this episode of Conversations in Healthcare, Mike Ward speaks with Richard Erwin, general manager and managing director of Roche Products Limited (UK), which was recorded in collaboration with One Nucleus's ON Helix conference (June 2021). Richard shares how the pandemic has shifted Roche’s priorities and why the organization has heavily increased their investment in R&D. Learn more in the full episode.40. Optimizing patient-first clinical trials with advanced site intelligence
40:56||Season 1, Ep. 40In this episode of Conversations in Healthcare, Mike Ward speaks with Oriol Serra, former Head of Site Intelligence and Selection at Pfizer and Simon Andrews, Vice President of RWD Engagements and Innovations at Clarivate about optimizing patient-first clinical trial design and ensuring trial groups align to real-life populations and needs. The group discusses the ins and outs to bring clinical trial management in-house, how to modernize trial designs with emerging data and intelligence, overcoming key challenges and advice for other pharma and biotechs looking to go down this path. Learn more in the full episode.39. Showing the value of regulatory intelligence in pharma
31:32||Season 1, Ep. 39In this episode of Conversations in Healthcare, Mike Ward speaks with Carolyn Hynes, Director of Regulatory Intelligence at AstraZeneca, and Céline Rodier, Senior Health Policy Manager at Clarivate, about strategies and tools to gather and assess regulatory intelligence, as well as KPIs and approaches to demonstrating ROI within your organization. Get actionable takeaways in the full episode.