Sit back and enjoy this conversation with Arizona Bioscience Pioneer Dr. Tom Grogan.

Dr. Akinlolu (“Lolu”) Ojo, Associate Vice President for Clinical Research and Global Health Initiatives, University of Arizona Health Sciences  

Akinlolu O. Ojo, MD, MPH, PhD, MBA, is the associate vice president for clinical research and global health initiatives at the University of Arizona Health Sciences and a professor of medicine in the UA College of Medicine – Tucson with a joint appointment as professor of health promotion sciences in the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

More than 26 million people worldwide suffer from heart failure and the number of cases is increasing at more than 13% per year. In the US, heart failure is the number one cause of hospital readmissions in patients over 65 and results in over $39 billion in treatment costs annually. The progression of heart failure results in a 50% mortality rate within 5 years of diagnosis. But what if it didn’t have to be like this? That is a question being addressed by the team at Avery Therapeutics, Inc. The startup company is based on the application of technology invented at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson and the Southern Arizona VA. In 2017, Avery Therapeutics licensed the beating heart graft technology from the University of Arizona. Pre-clinical studies have already shown that the technology, called MyCardia™, improves heart function.

Joan Koerber-Walker, President & CEO of AZBio provides a look at how Arizona stacks up when it comes to clinical trials.

Moderated by Jude LaCava, Co-founder, Dorothy Foundation; Panelists: -Eric Greenman, MD, Founder and Chief Medical Officer, iTel Companies; Marie Wesslehoft, President & Co-founder,   MSDx; Neel Mehta, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer,  EpiFinder Inc.

Bard Peripheral Vascular specializes in the development of surgical and interventional devices for the treatment of diseases affecting the peripheral vascular system, which consists of veins and arteries in the arms, hands, legs, and feet. The peripheral arteries supply oxygenated blood to the body, and the peripheral veins lead deoxygenated blood from the capillaries in the extremities back to the heart.