Xtalks Life Science Podcast

In this week’s episode of the Xtalks Life Science Podcast, host Ayesha Rashid, Senior Life Science Journalist at Xtalks, spoke with Awny Farajallah, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Takeda, about the growing role of real-world evidence in improving clinical trial inclusivity and diversity.
Also hear Dr. Farajallah discuss innovations in diseases such as narcolepsy type 1 and polycythemia vera, and how new technologies are transforming healthcare data into actionable insights.
With over two decades of experience in the healthcare industry, Dr. Farajallah has led numerous medical affairs teams and contributed to the development and commercialization of therapeutics in oncology and other disease areas, including rare disease, hematology, neuroscience and immunology. Prior to his current role, Dr. Farajallah served as the Head of Global Medical Affairs for Oncology at Takeda, and held global, regional and local roles at Ipsen and Bristol Myers Squibb.
Tune in to hear about how real-world evidence is driving more inclusive clinical trials, shaping patient-centered care and accelerating access to treatments.
For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/
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In this week’s episode of the Xtalks Life Science Podcast, host Ayesha Rashid, Senior Life Science Journalist at Xtalks, spoke with Lance Alstodt, CEO, BioRestorative & Francisco Silva, Chief Scientist & VP, R&D, BioRestorative Inc. (NASDAQ:BRTX), a regenerative medicine company developing stem cell-based therapies and products. The company’s clinical programs target critical healthcare needs, including degenerative disc disease and metabolic disorders.
Lance Alstadt has over 25 years of experience in leading medical technology and lifesciences companies in operations, capital raising activities, strategy and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Alstodt has deep experience in the orthopedic and spine sectors. Mr. Alstodt was the Founder and CEO of MedVest Consulting Corporation an investment fund that focuses on healthcare, and previously served at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and spent seven years in M&A at JP Morgan Chase. Mr. Alstodt has a BA in Economics from the State University of New York at Albany, with a secondary concentration in Finance and Marketing.
Tune in to hear about the evolving landscape of regenerative medicine and the promise and challenges of stem cell-based therapies in treating chronic conditions like degenerative disc disease.
For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/
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In this week’s episode of the Xtalks Life Science Podcast, host Ayesha Rashid, Senior Life Science Journalist at Xtalks, spoke with Alessio Travaglia, PhD, Neuroscientist and Director of Translational Science at the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH).
New findings from a study published in Nature Medicine suggest that a single blood test may be able to predict the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms within a three- to four-year period. Dr. Travaglia discusses how the test works, what it reveals about the earliest stages of disease and why identifying patients before symptoms appear could transform clinical trials and therapeutic development.
Dr. Travaglia has 15 years of experience in basic and translational neuroscience in academia, non-profit, management consulting and venture philanthropy.
Tune in to learn more about the new test and how it could transform the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/
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In this week’s episode of the Xtalks Life Science Podcast, host Ayesha Rashid, Senior Life Science Journalist at Xtalks, spoke Rick Pauls, President and CEO of DiaMedica Therapeutics (Nasdaq: DMAC), a company advancing multiple programs in challenging vascular conditions driven by ischemia, including preeclampsia (PE), fetal growth restriction (FGR) and acute ischemic stroke (AIS).
DiaMedica’s therapeutic approach in ischemia-based diseases centers on a recombinant form of the KLK1 protein, which plays a key role in regulating blood flow, reducing inflammation and supporting vascular health.
Rick Pauls has served as President and CEO of DiaMedica since 2009 and has been a board member since 2005, including as Chair from 2008 to 2014. Previously, he co-founded and led CentreStone Ventures, an early-stage life sciences venture capital fund, worked as an analyst at Centara Corporation and specialized in asset-backed securitization and structured finance at General Motors Acceptance Corporation. He has also served on the boards of several public and private companies. Rick received his BA in Economics from the University of Manitoba and his MBA in Finance from the University of North Dakota.
Tune in to hear about a novel therapeutic approach to treating ischemia-driven diseases like stroke and preeclampsia.
For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/
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In this special episode of the Xtalks Life Science Podcast, part of our Breakthrough with Dr. Corey Stanton series, host Dr. Corey Stanton speaks with Neal Dunkinson, Sr. Director of Solution Sales at Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), about why copyright and licensing are becoming mission-critical in modern life sciences research, particularly in the era of AI.
Life sciences teams both generate and consume vast amounts of scientific literature, clinical data and third-party content. As Neal explains, copyright and licensing are no longer back-office considerations; they are central to enabling compliant collaboration, reducing information silos and supporting confident decision-making across R&D, medical affairs and regulatory teams.
In this episode, Neal discusses the most common challenges organizations face when managing scientific literature and internal knowledge workflows, and how those challenges evolve as companies grow from early-stage biotechs into global enterprises. He highlights where compliance risks and information silos typically emerge in real-world research environments and how structured licensing strategies can help mitigate them.
The conversation also explores how CCC’s approach to “making copyright work” translates into practical value for scientists and knowledge workers: removing friction from access to content while ensuring proper rights management behind the scenes.
As AI-driven analytics and generative tools become embedded in life sciences workflows, new copyright considerations are emerging. Neal explains how CCC supports responsible AI development by enabling lawful access to high-quality content while ensuring that publishers and creators are fairly compensated. He shares his perspective on what “responsible AI” means in scientific research and how licensing frameworks will likely evolve as AI adoption accelerates.
Neal joined CCC in January 2025 and brings 20 years of experience in informatics solutions for the life sciences R&D market. Over the course of his career, he has held roles at Thomson Reuters, Accelrys/Biovia and SciBite/Elsevier, where he helped scale SciBite from a four-person startup through its acquisition and integration into Elsevier. At CCC, he focuses on licensing and content workflow solutions tailored to the needs of life sciences organizations, aligning product capabilities with complex research and compliance requirements.
Tune in to learn how forward-looking content and licensing strategies can help life sciences organizations future-proof their research operations while advancing compliant, AI-enabled discovery.
For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/
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In this week’s episode of the Xtalks Life Science Podcast, host Ayesha Rashid, Senior Life Science Journalist at Xtalks, spoke with Dave Rosa, CEO, NeuroOne Medical Technologies Corporation, a company developing minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic electrodes employed in nerve ablation as well as neuromodulation devices to treat conditions such as epilepsy and chronic pain and enable drug delivery into the brain.
Mr. Rosa is an entrepreneur with three decades of experience in the medical device industry spanning a variety of technologies and products. In addition to CEO roles with early-stage medical device companies, Mr. Rosa’s background also includes senior roles with C.R. Bard Inc., Boston Scientific Inc. and St. Jude Medical, where his responsibilities included marketing, product development and business development. He has been named as an inventor on multiple medical device patents, serves on seven corporate boards and has raised more than $200M in the capital markets. 
Mr. Rosa holds an MBA from Duquesne University and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Commerce and Engineering from Drexel University.
Tune in to learn about advancements in neuromodulation and nerve ablation for chronic pain.
For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/
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In this week’s episode of the Xtalks Life Science Podcast, host Ayesha Rashid, Senior Life Science Journalist at Xtalks, spoke with Kevin Caldwell, CEO, Co-Founder & President of Ossium Health, a biotechnology company advancing the first off-the-shelf bone marrow therapy derived from deceased organ donors. The treatment is designed to address longstanding clinical and logistical challenges in allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.
Kevin Caldwell has led Ossium Health in building more than 50 strategic partnerships with biopharmaceutical companies and helped secure a transformative federal contract with BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority).
Prior to founding Ossium, Kevin served as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey’s San Francisco office where he advised clients in the biotechnology and healthcare sectors, and prior to that, served as a Senior Investment Associate at Bridgewater Associates where he did quantitative research for the firm’s global macro investments. Kevin holds degrees in Physics and Economics from MIT and a JD from Harvard Law School.
Tune in to learn about how about the landscape of cell therapy and allogeneic transplantation, including the translation of off-the-shelf cellular therapies into clinical practice and how emerging models could reshape bone marrow transplantation workflows.
For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/
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In this episode of the Xtalks Life Science Podcast, part of the Breakthrough with Dr. Corey Stanton series, host Dr. Corey Stanton sits down with Dr. Omar Wahab, Vice President of Bioprocessing at Lonza, to explore the increasingly strategic role of cell culture media in enabling scalable biologics manufacturing.
As biologics pipelines continue to expand across therapeutic areas such as oncology, immunology and advanced therapies, upstream development decisions are taking on new importance in determining manufacturing readiness, supply resilience and long-term commercial viability.
Drawing on more than two decades of experience spanning research, manufacturing, MSAT and commercial leadership, Dr. Wahab discusses how early formulation choices can shape downstream productivity, influence product quality attributes and ultimately impact cost of goods.
He underscores why media development should be viewed not as a routine procurement decision but as a core element of process design. This is particularly important as intensified production platforms and higher cell densities increase sensitivity to raw material variability and operational conditions.
The conversation examines the operational pressures facing today’s bioprocessing teams, including the need to advance clinical programs rapidly while maintaining confidence in scalability and regulatory expectations.
Dr. Wahab highlights how structured experimentation frameworks, such as Design of Experiments, are helping organizations generate more actionable data and move beyond traditional trial-and-error approaches.
He also points to the importance of aligning upstream innovation with real-world manufacturing considerations, from large-scale process feasibility to globally sustainable material sourcing strategies.
Listeners will also gain insight into how non-GMP and GMP manufacturing stages function as critical transition points between early development insights and regulated commercial production. When formulation strategies are developed with downstream execution in mind, companies can reduce late-stage comparability challenges and strengthen supply continuity across global manufacturing networks.
Dr. Wahab further discusses the growing role of digital tools and structured data environments in improving process visibility and enabling more coordinated decision-making across development and production teams.
Looking ahead, Dr. Wahab shares his perspective on the trends set to define the next phase of upstream bioprocessing, including tighter integration between development and manufacturing functions and the rising strategic significance of regional biologics hubs such as Singapore.
He notes that future success in biologics manufacturing will depend not only on scientific excellence but also on cross-functional alignment and a systems-level understanding of how early upstream decisions influence performance at commercial scale.
Tune in to learn how structured media development strategies help life sciences organizations accelerate timelines, reduce technical risk and strengthen confidence as programs move toward commercial biologics production.
For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/
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In this week’s episode of the Xtalks Life Science Podcast, host Ayesha Rashid, Senior Life Science Journalist at Xtalks, spoke with Alex Yang, JD, LLM, CEO of Polaryx, a company focused on developing disease-modifying small molecule therapies for rare, pediatric lysosomal storage disorders.
Alex is a biotech executive and investor with over 25 years of experience spanning law, private equity, cross-border fund formation and strategic leadership across the biopharmaceutical sector. He currently serves investment and risk committee member roles for various regional and country-focused private equity funds. Alex was formerly a managing partner at Kim & Chang and a partner at the Ernst & Young Hong Kong office leading regional financial services practice, including banking and capital markets, asset management and insurance.
Alex graduated from New York University School of Law with both Juris Doctor (JD) and Master of Laws (LLM) degrees and a bar with the State of New York and received an undergraduate degree from Binghamton University in Economics.
Tune in to learn about how Polaryx is aiming to accelerate treatment options for patients with urgent unmet needs using robust therapeutic and flexible clinical trial designs.
 
For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/
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In this week’s episode of the Xtalks Life Science Podcast, host Ayesha Rashid, Senior Life Science Journalist at Xtalks, spoke with Steve Levine, MD, Chief Patient Officer at Compass Pathways, a biotechnology company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health.
One of the areas that Compass Pathways is working in is the development of psilocybin-based treatments for treatment-resistant depression (TRD).
Dr. Levine is a board-certified psychiatrist who has spent his career working across multiple facets of the healthcare system to improve people’s lives through creating access to innovation. Dr. Levine completed an internship and residency in psychiatry at New York – Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, followed by fellowship subspecialty training in psychosomatic medicine/psycho-oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center/New York – Presbyterian Hospital.
Prior to Compass Pathways, Dr. Levine led Actify Neurotherapies, a company he founded in 2010 that built new models of care delivery across the US for interventional psychiatry treatments. He has published extensively in both peer-reviewed journals and popular media, presented to both professional and lay audiences around the world, served in leadership roles for professional societies and not-for-profit entities and received numerous awards for leadership and service.
Tune in to hear about innovations and unmet needs in the mental health space and the development of science-driven psilocybin-based treatments for depression.
 
For more life science and medical device content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage. https://xtalks.com/vitals/
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