Reptiles, Toxicology, and the Future of Cell and Gene Therapy | Dr. Andy Vick

What can reptile venom teach us about medicine, and what separates merely good scientific work from truly great work?

Dr. Andy Vick returns to BioTalk Unzipped for a conversation that moves from drug development and toxicology into reptiles, academia, gene therapy, professional development, and the extraordinary possibilities opening up across modern medicine.

Andy shares the discoveries and industry changes that have surprised him over the course of his career, including how dramatically some areas of cancer treatment have changed.

Then science meets one of his personal passions: reptiles. Andy describes his rare reptile collection and his work educating future toxicologists about venom and its potential pharmaceutical applications.

The discussion moves into Andy’s role as an adjunct professor at The Ohio State University and his work connecting academic research, students, and industry.

In New News, Gregory, Chad, and Andy discuss gene therapy used to restore hearing in children with mutations affecting otoferlin. The story opens a broader discussion about the extraordinary therapeutic potential of cell and gene therapy as well as the safety and tolerability questions researchers still need to answer.

Andy closes by discussing the role organizations such as AAPS play in scientific collaboration, networking, mentorship, and professional growth.

Chapters

00:21 - Surprises throughout Dr. Vick’s career

02:24 - The cyclical nature of technology

03:30 - Exploring the pharmaceutical potential of venom

05:35 - Improvements in cancer and other diseases over the past 30 years

10:13 - Educating future toxicologists about reptiles and pharmaceuticals

15:45 - Andrew Vick’s role as an adjunct professor at The Ohio State University

21:21 - New News: Restoring hearing in children through gene therapy

27:27 - The impact of professional organizations such as AAPS

Selected quotes“It’s probably a good 10 years from the glimmer in a biochemist’s eyes to on the market.”“There’s a logarithmic difference between great and good.”“Just use your imagination on a way to tackle a disease and then find a way.”“Cell and gene therapy opens the door to a whole different category of opportunities.”Connect with Dr. Andy Vick

Dr. Andy Vick

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-vick-4467189/

Attralus Therapeutics

https://www.attralus.com/

Connect with the hosts

Dr. Chad Briscoe

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadbriscoe/

Gregory Austin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregoryaustin1/

New News

Regeneron gene therapy restores hearing in two children:

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/little-protein-factory-could-regeneron-gene-therapy-restores-hearing-2-kids

Image credit

Pharmacognosy:

https://pharmacognosy-phytochemistry-natural-products.pharmaceuticalconferences.com/events-list/industrial-pharmacognosy

Keywords

toxicology, reptiles, venom, drug discovery, drug development, gene therapy, hearing loss, academia, AAPS, cell and gene therapy, biotechnology

#biotechnology #toxicology #genetherapy #hearingloss #AAPS #science