What was hot in cancer treatment innovation and precision medicine at MedCity CONVERGE? (Video)

If you missed our conference this week, fear not. We recorded some of the most interesting segments. Check them out.

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The seventh edition of the MedCity CONVERGE conference in Philadelphia has come and gone with its unique blend of thought leaders, healthcare entrepreneurs and investors discussing the latest trends and new developments in cancer treatment innovation and precision medicine. Those conversations spanned the ongoing debate on drug prices, a thoughtful discussion on noninvasive testing and the ways in which clinical trials are enlisting digital health technologies to improve recruitment, increase diversity, improve outcomes and reduce drug development costs.

Missed it, did you? Fear not: We recorded some of the most interesting segments for you. Check them out:

Practical applications of AI in healthcare and The promise and hype of immunotherapy

[panel discussion starts at 9:55]

John Quackenbush, the director of the Center for Cancer Computational Biology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Carla Leibowitz, the head of corporate development with Arterys and Dr. Tufia Haddad, the chair of breast medical oncology with the Mayo Clinic, cut their way through the hype of AI and bring some context to how algorithms are being applied in meaningful ways in healthcare such as medical imaging. Ayan Bhattacharya, advanced analytics specialist leader with Deloitte Consulting, is the moderator. For more on this discussion, check out Senior Biopharma Reporter Alaric DeArment’s story.

[opening keynote starts at 1:08:00]

Dr. Joshua Brody, a medical oncologist with the Mount Sinai Health System, talks tempers some of the exciting immunotherapy developments in his lab at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai with the toxicity risks that patients taking part in clinical trials of this technology face. For more about Brody’s talk, follow this link.

Promising Drugs, Pricing & Access

There’s so much innovation in cancer drug development designed to produce better outcomes but for narrow segments of patients. Do we overinvest in cancer treatment? Do we want to spend more on children with cancer compared with older patients? Diving into this ethical minefield are Robert Dubois, chief science officer and executive vice president of the National Pharmaceutical Council; Gary Kurtzman, senior vice president and managing director of healthcare for Safeguard Scientifics; Steven Lucio, Vizient’s associate vice president of pharmacy services; and Patrick Davish, Merck’s associate vice president for global and U.S. pricing/market access. Bunny Ellerin, director of the Columbia Business School’s healthcare and pharmaceutical management program, is the moderator. For more about this discussion, check out Hospitals and Health IT Reporter Erin Dietsche’s article.

Fireside Chat with Michael Pellini

[Conversation starts at 3:42]

Between Roche’s acquisition of Foundation Medicine and the chairman of the diagnostics business taking a role with an investment firm that has a name only a Star Trek fan can appreciate, Section 32, Michael Pellini had quite a lot to talk about with MedCity News Editor in Chief Arundhati Parmar.

Early Diagnosis through predictive biomarkers and noninvasive testing

Experts talk about the next generation of cancer diagnostics in a conversation with Kevin Hrusovsky, Powering Precision Health Founder, and Bonnie Anderson, Veracyte CEO, moderated by Heather Rose, Director of licensing at Thomas Jefferson University.

Clinical Trial’s 2.0

A panel discussion about new technologies that could enable more people to participate in clinical trials and what it will take for these studies to yield better outcomes moderated by John Reites, Chief Product Officer with Thread Research. Among the panelists are Dr. Andrew Chapman Chief of Cancer Services, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomes Jefferson University Hospital; Michelle Longmire, Medable Founder; Sameek Roychowdhury Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center oncologist; and Wout Brusselaers, Deep 6 AI co-founder and CEO.

What patients want and need in their journey

Dr. Amanda Woodworth, director of breast health and wellness center at Drexel Medicine, moderated a discussion about the patient experience with Kezia Fitzgerald, CareAline cofounder and Chief Innovation Officer; Sara Hayes, Health Union senior director of community development, Katrece Nolen, Find Cancer Help Founder; and John Simpkins, Administrative director, service line director of the cancer center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Photo: Getty Images

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