Revolutionizing Clinical Trials: A Technological Leap Forward | The Pair Program Ep48
In this compelling episode of The Pair Program, we dive into the intersection of cutting-edge technology and clinical research with two distinguished guests: Dr. Lawrence Cheskin, a pioneer in obesity research, and Harsha Rajasimha, the innovative founder of Jeeva Clinical Trials. Join us as we explore how their unique expertise is transforming the landscape of clinical trials and healthcare.
Dr. Cheskin, a Professor at George Mason University and former Director of Clinical Research at the Global Obesity Prevention Center, shares his extensive experience in combating obesity through rigorous clinical investigation and public health initiatives. His work in mHealth and behavioral interventions has significantly advanced obesity treatment and self-management.
Harsha Rajasimha, CEO of Jeeva Clinical Trials, brings a fresh perspective to clinical trial execution with his company’s modern platform designed to streamline trials and enhance efficiency. Inspired by a personal tragedy involving a rare genetic disease, Harsha’s mission is to provide universal access to clinical trials, making a profound impact on both rare and common diseases.In this episode, we discuss:
- The journey from startup inception to practical healthcare solutions.
- How Harsha’s personal experiences shaped his mission and the development of Jeeva Clinical Trials.
- Dr. Cheskin’s commitment to obesity research and the intersection of his work with modern technology.
- The collaboration between Harsha and Lawrence to drive innovation in clinical trials.
- The challenges and strategies in integrating new technology into clinical settings and reaching target markets.
Tune in to hear how these leaders are working together to revolutionize clinical trials and make a significant impact on healthcare.
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Transcript
Welcome to The Pair Program from hatchpad, the podcast that gives you
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:a front row seat to candid conversations
with tech leaders from the startup world.
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:I'm your host, Tim Winkler, the
creator of hatchpad, and I'm
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:your other host, Mike Gruen.
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:Join us each episode as we bring
together two guests to dissect topics
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:at the intersection of technology,
startups and career growth.
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:Hey everyone, welcome
back to The Pair Program.
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:Uh, Tim Winkler here with Mike Gruen.
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:Mike, we were kind of chatting a little
bit earlier about, uh, you know, some.
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:Some vacation plans on my, on my
docket, but I was curious what, what
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:you got, uh, lined up or is it, uh,
going to be a, a dry summer for you?
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:It's going to be a dry summer.
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:Oh, no.
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:Is it kids related?
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:Is it the kids?
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:No, I mean, so, um.
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:Mike Gruen: Yeah, so both of my sons
are in Boy Scouts or, sorry, BSA.
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:They've rebranded.
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:Um, uh, and so they have some scouting
things going on over the summer.
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:And, um, so we're mostly low key.
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:We're thinking maybe a weekend here,
a weekend trip there, but nothing, no
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:big summer plans, um, Because they have
big summer plans, my wife and one of
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:my, no, I guess just got back from the
Florida Keys where they did a whole
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:snorkeling, like high adventure thing.
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:It's awesome.
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:Yeah, good for her.
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:Uh, yeah, exactly.
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:Um, it was work.
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:They were like camping on an island.
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:Like she was like, it
was fun, but it was hard.
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:So, um, and then, um, and then
both of them have, um, a big long
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:week, um, in Goshen, uh, Virginia.
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:Uh, cool.
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:Tim Winkler: All
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:Mike Gruen: right.
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:Well, I will.
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:When I'm out, when I'm out in
the Outer Banks, uh, the Outer
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:Banks, uh, you stopping off
anywhere else on the way there?
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:Yeah, we're doing a bush garden
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:Tim Winkler: stop off out in Williamsburg.
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:So, uh, you know, for, for those,
uh, that have listened to the last
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:few episodes, I've got a 18 month old
daughter, so this'll be her first time,
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:you know, jumping onto some Some of
the, you know, the teacups, I don't
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:know what, what, what these, uh, the,
the kids at that age can ride, but, uh,
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:you know, I'm, I'm pretty sure she's,
uh, going to be an adventure seeker.
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:So looking forward to getting
her out to an amusement park.
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:Awesome.
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:Cool.
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:Lawrence Cheskin: All right.
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:Well, I just came back from Greece.
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:So.
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:Oh, dang.
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:You just trumped everybody on the
call, but you asked me for the past
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:three years, I've done nothing.
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:Tim Winkler: Where'd you go?
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:What, what islands did
you, did you hit up?
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:Lawrence Cheskin: We went to, you
know, we started in Athens, which was.
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:Not that great.
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:You know, it's all dirty and graffiti
filled and with 50, 000 other people at
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:the Parthenon, that was the highlight.
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:And then we flew to Mykonos,
which is sort of a party island.
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:And, uh, we weren't that
crazy about that one.
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:And then Naxos was probably
our favorite, which is, uh, you
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:know, a less developed island.
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:And, uh, uh, we went hiking and
stuff there in the middle of it.
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:Very cool.
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:And the last one was Santorini, which is
probably the most beautiful, you know?
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:Yeah.
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:Beaches and sunsets and all that.
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:Tim Winkler: Absolutely.
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:Yeah.
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:We did, uh, uh, Athens,
meno and, and Santorini.
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:I think those are, yeah,
that's gonna be the, yeah.
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:The, the most frequented, uh,
destinations, but, um, Mm-Hmm.
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:did you take the ferry?
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:I take it then just to, to get out there?
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:Yeah.
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:I, the, the ferries in
between the islands.
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:Yep.
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:Nice.
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:Very cool.
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:Well, now we got to ask Harsha,
anything that you can trump,
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:uh, a Greece trip with, or?
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:Harsha Rajasimha: Of course.
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:The Virginia beach always
trumps everything else.
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:All right.
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:Now I know, I guess I
have a sense of humor.
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:I have two daughters and
both of them love the beach.
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:So we spent, uh, uh, Fourth of
July, long weekend and at the beach.
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:It was fun.
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:Tim Winkler: Yeah.
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:Virginia beach is, is a, is a
great area and not far as well.
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:So, um, well, we'll, we'll, we'll have
to say that, uh, it doesn't quite Trump
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:the Greece trip, but we'll, we'll give
you credit for at least getting away.
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:Uh, better than Mike's lazy summer.
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:I would
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:Harsha Rajasimha: https: otter.
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:ai
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:Lawrence Cheskin: He has a lot more
money as a result of my trip to
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:Virginia Beach.
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:Uh,
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:Tim Winkler: let's jump
into today's episode.
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:So again, this is going to be one of
those episodes where we get to mash up
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:a, a startup founder with one of their
customer partners and talk through
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:how a solution is delivered, uh,
specifically we'll be focusing in on
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:the healthcare space for this use case.
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:Uh, we'll learn a little bit more about
some interesting technology being built
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:to to help streamline clinical trials.
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:So today we have, uh, Harsha Rajaseema,
uh, the founder and CEO of Jiva
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:Clinical Trials, uh, and Professor Larry
Cheskin, a professor at George Mason
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:University's College of Public Health.
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:With a focus in nutrition.
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:Uh, so Harsha, Larry, thank you both
for joining us on The Pair Program.
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:Excellent.
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:So before we dive in, we do
kick things off with a, a fun
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:segment called pair me up.
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:Here's where we all go around the room.
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:We spit ball a complimentary
pairing of our choice.
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:Mike, you lead us off.
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:What, uh, what do you got for us
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:Mike Gruen: today?
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:So, yeah, so, uh, mine is kids and pets.
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:Um, I, uh, I grew up with a lot of pets,
um, a lot of pets, uh, and we have,
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:um, Uh, my family has cats and a turtle
and I was talking earlier today with a
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:coworker about like getting a dog and
I said, Oh, you know, my kids are older
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:and I sort of wish we'd gotten a dog when
they were younger because I like dogs.
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:Um, I mean, I like all animals.
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:There's people ask me all the time.
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:Like, my cat person, dog person,
they have, they're different.
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:Um, I like both.
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:Um, but I do like dogs a lot anyway.
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:So, uh, uh, kids and pets.
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:That's where we go.
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:Kids and pets.
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:Tim Winkler: Yeah, I mean, I think
that's, that's a great parent.
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:I mean, I, I know as a kid, it was like
a constant harassment on my parents.
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:It's like, you need a dog, you need a dog.
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:So, you know, but it, you
had to lead up to that.
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:So we had like multiple hamsters,
you know, all kind of, you
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:know, Suffered tragic deaths.
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:Uh, somehow as a, as a kid that
couldn't keep a hamster alive, they
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:were able to still, if they die,
you know, let's get you an upgrade.
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:She's got a dog.
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:Yeah.
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:It was a family dog.
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:The hamster was mine, but, um,
but yeah, kids and pets, I dig it.
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:Um, I'm gonna, I'm gonna jump
in real quick and, uh, go with
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:road trips and car washes.
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:Um, so again, we're going on, on
vacation, uh, end of this week.
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:And, um, uh, getting the car kind of
just, you know, tidied up beforehand,
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:making sure you have a comfortable
space to, to, uh, to sit in for,
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:you know, whatever it is, six,
seven hours, uh, is always something
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:that we do before any road trips.
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:So, uh, car washes and road trips
also, they'll do a little bit of like,
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:uh, um, if you do it at a spot that's
got like a little mechanical, do a
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:little check on, on some of the, uh,
essentials, make sure you're good to
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:go with tires and everything else.
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:But, uh, Um, that's, uh, that's my
pairing for, uh, for the day and
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:let's pass it over to the guest.
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:So, uh, why don't we, we start with you,
Harsha, a quick intro and your pairing.
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:Harsha Rajasimha: Great.
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:Um, hi, um, this is Harsha Rajasimha,
founder of Jiva Clinical Trials.
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:Um, my background is I'm a
computer science engineer turned,
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:uh, genomics data scientist.
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:Um, we are currently on a mission to,
um, modernize clinical research with, uh,
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:human centric software and CRO solutions.
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:Uh, headquartered here in northern
Virginia from a pairing point of view,
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:um, I, I guess a lot of kids, uh,
and plants, um, no animals, uh, as
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:I grew up in a vegetarian household
and also, uh, not really, uh, pets,
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:uh, uh, that are, uh, Not plants, so
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:Tim Winkler: so so plants
as, as the pets, absolutely.
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:Harsha Rajasimha: Clovering plants,
some vegetables and stuff that can go
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:in into the edible side of the kitchen.
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:Tim Winkler: Nice.
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:Yeah.
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:That's a first.
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:That's a first on the show.
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:Um, Larry, how about yourself?
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:Quick intro in your pan.
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:Lawrence Cheskin: Well,
I'm, I'm Larry Cheskin.
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:I'm a physician by training and
a professor of nutrition, uh,
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:at the school of public health.
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:At George Mason University, and I
also work, uh, now as an adjunct
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:professor at Johns Hopkins.
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:And, uh, I see patients and I do a
lot of weight control and, you know,
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:uh, weight is a big issue in the
United States and around the world.
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:And, uh, the pairing, I guess I can
talk about, uh, not to be repetitive
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:and they're not exactly pets, but my
wife and I rescue, uh, farm animals,
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:uh, at our, uh, uh, farm in New York.
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:farm in, in, uh, Ellicott city,
Maryland, and we've got everything
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:from Horses and mules, ponies,
uh, goats, sheep, uh, and pigs.
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:So, uh, and we had a chicken right in
the house in our kitchen an hour ago.
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:Uh, cause it had what's called a bumble
foot, which is like a bleb that they
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:develop on their feet and then they can't
walk real good and my wife was trying to
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:do minor surgery, uh, on the, the bumble
foot, uh, uh, get it to go down a little.
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:Tim Winkler: Interesting.
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:What's up?
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:Polar opposite parents here
between our guests, our
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:Lawrence Cheskin: animals, we're,
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:Mike Gruen: we're, uh, I know I was just
going to say, it sounded like my house
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:Tim Winkler: vegetarian.
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:Lawrence Cheskin: That's funny.
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:Tim Winkler: That's cool.
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:Yeah.
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:Mike, you were just saying
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:Mike Gruen: that.
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:Yeah.
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:I mean, I grew up with
lots of farm animals.
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:The difference is some of them we ate,
um, and, uh, we definitely did not
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:have pigs, but, uh, we did have the
goats and horses and stuff like that.
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:Um, so that's, that's very cool.
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:I think this is also the first episode
we've had no alcohol, uh, mentioned as
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:Tim Winkler: alcohol or food foods.
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:Uh, yeah.
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:Yeah.
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:Nice.
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:First of a kind.
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:Awesome.
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:Lawrence Cheskin: Great show.
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:Thank you.
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:Tim Winkler: Welcome folks again.
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:Thanks for joining us.
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:And, uh, let's go ahead and transition
into the heart of the episode.
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:So as I mentioned, we're going to be
talking to a tech startup founder, Harsha,
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:to hear more about, uh, this health tech
company, Jiva clinical trials, how they're
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:working with a, a customer Parker customer
partner and breaking down, you know, how
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:this strategic partnership came to be.
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:First and foremost, I do wanna
expand on the story and the
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:impact of GVA clinical trials.
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:So I'll start with you, Harsha, you know,
what inspired you to start this company
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:and, and what problems are you solving?
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:Harsha Rajasimha: Yeah,
so, uh, great question Tim.
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:Uh, you know, coming outta NIH and FDA
as a postdoctoral scientist and, um, uh,
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:being part of multiple startup, so, so I.
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:Change the world, but
how exactly to change?
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:Where is the unmet need?
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:Uh, where can I help people?
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:Uh, was a question as I was
going through early part of my
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:career more as a data scientist.
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:And, uh, as I stumbled upon my own
personal experience of becoming a dad to.
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:Three kids and, uh, one of the kids, uh,
born in:
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:And, um, so, uh, we
lost, uh, the same year.
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:Uh, and so that, uh, inspired me
to think more in terms of, um,
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:what these rare genetic diseases
are, what type of diseases.
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:And I was good.
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:Good news was I was
kind of professionally.
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:Already involved in the, um,
genomics and precision medicine
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:area, uh, coming from NIH and FDA.
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:But, uh, uh, uh, uh, experiencing the
loss of a child is something that, uh,
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:really, uh, uh, uh, inspired me to, uh,
Think, uh, what can be done about diseases
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:like that, um, and there is much hope
for some of those diseases, but not all
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:diseases can be treated or cured, but
certainly diagnosis was a big challenge.
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:And so I spent several years, um,
working for a startup leading their
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:clinical genomic test that can
diagnose thousands of diseases in a
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:single, uh, exome sequencing test.
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:And, uh, then coming out of that, uh,
moving into therapeutic development,
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:consulting for big pharma, uh, while
I was working for, um, Dell services,
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:entity data services over the years, um,
uh, first time looked at how inefficient
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:the process of bringing new treatments
through the regulatory process was.
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:One in 10 drugs make it
through the valley of death.
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:Nine outta 10 drugs fail, and it takes,
uh, nine years to 12 years, um, on an
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:average going from first in human studies
through the regulatory review and process,
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:uh, very inefficient, very expensive.
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:Average cost had exceeded two and half
billion to get one drug to market.
265
:And as, uh, I looked at that problem, uh,
there's just massive IT infrastructure
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:that goes into, uh, executing one
clinical trial at a big global pharma.
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:And there's a lot of, uh, early stage, uh,
biotech companies that where innovation is
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:happening for, say, cell and gene therapy
or, uh, novel modalities, uh, that don't
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:have the resources that big pharma have.
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:And they have to execute these
studies, identifying and stitching
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:together 20, 30 different software
tools, laboratories and samples and
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:a lot of workflows that all have to
happen in a quite a complex workflow
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:to make one clinical trial successful.
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:So I thought there was a huge
opportunity and a unmet need to one,
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:getting early diagnosis and then
getting them to clinical research and.
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:Uh, also only one or 2 percent of the
American population are actually being.
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:Uh, accessing the clinical research
enterprise, uh, while, uh, while 99
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:percent of the people are still not
engaged in the clinical research process.
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:Of course, during the pandemic,
suddenly, you know, everyone heard
280
:about clinical trials about the vaccine
and it was a, uh, the silver lining,
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:as they say, of raising mass awareness
at the population scale about clinical
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:research and how they can be lifesaving.
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:So.
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:And so that's led to, uh, it's a
year before the pandemic is when I
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:founded Jeeva to essentially bring
efficiency and human centric approach
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:to executing clinical research.
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:And that that was the inspiration, uh,
along the way, you know, I also had a
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:younger brother who was suffering from
diabetes and the complications of that
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:who is, who was in his early thirties.
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:Um, Lost his life, um, as a result of
the complications coming out of, uh,
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:diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy
and other, um, complications.
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:So, uh, both these family
members, um, inspired me, but the
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:entrepreneurial bug was already there.
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:So I, I just got the direction to
see where I could make a difference.
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:Tim Winkler: Well, it's a inspiring story
and, um, you know, I'm sorry to hear about
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:the loss, um, as a parent that also has,
uh, as a, as a, as a person that lost
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:both of their parents to cancer, um, can
relate to the, uh, motivation to want to.
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:Figure out solutions to problems.
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:Um, one of which my mom, you know,
she was, uh, diagnosed with multiple
300
:myeloma and, uh, you know, it was
a, still a fairly, you know, early
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:stage kind of cancer that hasn't
been, uh, a ton of research done on.
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:So we, we had a, uh, an entry
point into, um, getting into some
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:of these, some of these trials.
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:Uh, and I can tell you that the, you
know, this would have been in:
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:Yeah.
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:16, uh, and, uh, it was a
very frustrating experience.
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:There was just wasn't a, a clean
entry point to understand what the
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:options were, you know, what were
the results from other, um, patients.
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:And, um, and so, you know,
when I, Discovered what you
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:were, you were building.
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:I had a personal interest in, in wanting
to hear more and also just, yeah,
312
:grateful that there's folks like yourself,
entrepreneurs like yourself out there
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:that are, you know, uh, pushing the
needle forward to, you know, to solve
314
:some of these problems because, uh, it
is, is truly a problem and it's, it's a.
315
:It's one that, you know, when
lives are on the line, it's,
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:it's, you know, how quickly can we
move to, to, to expedite things?
317
:Harsha Rajasimha: it's one of those things
where it's one of the most complex human
318
:endeavors that are undertaken in getting
one drug through the regulatory process.
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:And multiple stakeholders have to do
their jobs, um, in a very coherent,
320
:consistent, like collaborative manner.
321
:And, uh, what's surprising me is.
322
:Even today, um, 90 percent of clinical
trials are run, conducted on 10
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:percent of the world's population.
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:90 percent of the world is not
engaged in clinical research.
325
:At all, uh, to a great extent.
326
:And so I think there is huge opportunity
to take clinical research to the
327
:patient's homes and, uh, enabling
remote patient engagement and, um,
328
:involvement in clinical research,
after all, they are the people who are,
329
:who are being helped by these pharma
companies in developing drugs and digital
330
:therapeutics and novel modalities.
331
:So.
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:That's a mission that I think I'm
willing to put in whatever best I can.
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:Tim Winkler: Yeah.
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:And, you know, I want a couple of quick
hits on, uh, Jeeva and then we'll, we'll,
335
:we'll jump over to Larry here in a second.
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:Um, what's, what's the, the, the size of
the company from a headcount perspective?
337
:You know, have you received any.
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:Funding to this point is it, you
know, been venture capital grants.
339
:Uh, tell us a little bit about, uh,
you know, the specifics of the company.
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:Harsha Rajasimha: Absolutely.
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:So we are a Delaware corporation
headquartered in Virginia, uh,
342
:received various grants from the
Virginia Commonwealth, uh, governors,
343
:uh, com commercialization fund,
um, as well as, uh, Investments
344
:from the Virginia venture partners.
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:So we are a portfolio of that.
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:And, uh, as a Hokie and affiliate
faculty at George Mason, I have not
347
:had any trouble attracting talent,
um, you know, seeking internships and
348
:full time opportunities and so on.
349
:So we are a team of 15, um, people and an
advisory board, a board of directors and
350
:several investors for all, um, rooting
for us and supporting in our mission.
351
:Uh, so we are at a seed stage
and we are just out, um, starting
352
:to raise a series a round.
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:Tim Winkler: Okay.
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:Excellent.
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:Yeah.
356
:And, uh, at the end of this, we'll,
we'll, uh, have a little bit more of a few
357
:questions to plug, uh, you know, the types
of roles that you're hiring for as well.
358
:Um, but, uh, uh, before we dive a
little bit deeper into, you know, what,
359
:what Jeeva is doing, um, uh, at a more
granular level, let's, let's pass it
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:over to Larry real quick, Larry, how,
um, yeah, tell us a little bit about your
361
:background, um, and then, uh, how did
you and, and Harsha kind of cross paths.
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:Lawrence Cheskin: Yeah.
363
:So, um, I've been, uh, in medicine,
you know, uh, since I was not quite
364
:a teenager, but soon thereafter.
365
:And, uh, uh, I've always been very
interested in research and not so
366
:much laboratory research, you know,
working with, with mice and cells,
367
:um, but in working with people.
368
:So that's, uh, called clinical
trials or clinical research.
369
:And this is where, um, you're often
taking things that were originally
370
:done, uh, as research in animals and
cells and applying them to humans.
371
:So it's often a big leap, uh, because
things that work in cells or animals
372
:don't necessarily work in humans.
373
:So it's necessary to do things in
a very rigorous, organized fashion.
374
:And the kind of gold standard is what's
called a randomized controlled trial.
375
:So I've been involved in doing
these sorts of studies, um, and
376
:an RCT for short, randomized
controlled trial, uh, is randomized.
377
:That means that it's very important
because very often we're influenced
378
:by what we think is going to happen.
379
:Um, and many people have
heard of the placebo effect.
380
:So if I give you a pill and say, you
know, Mike, this is going to change your
381
:life, um, you may laugh, uh, but it will
probably change your life a little bit.
382
:Even if it turns out it's a pill
that does nothing, it's a sugar pill.
383
:Um, and, uh, when you give people
medicines, for instance, and that's
384
:one of the main treatments, uh, that
we use in healthcare, You have to
385
:know whether the effect is greater
than if I gave you a sugar pill.
386
:Because the sugar pill is going
to do something for many people.
387
:So, um, you, uh, randomize
people to whether they're going
388
:to get the sugar pill or the
active drug that you're testing.
389
:And that, uh, uh, is a controlled
setting and you don't let the
390
:person know what they're getting.
391
:And you'd also, it's
called double blinded.
392
:It's not just the patient that doesn't
know what they're getting, but it's
393
:the, the, the person giving out the drug
that doesn't know what they're giving.
394
:Uh, so it's a double blind.
395
:Um, and the only one that's going to know
is as you're analyzing the final data,
396
:you have to eventually look at who got
what, uh, to know whether the people who
397
:got the active drug did any better than
the people who got the placebo drug.
398
:Um, so a randomized control trial is
called the gold standard of testing things
399
:because any other method of testing a
treatment, you're always concerned about,
400
:well, did it really Do the effect because
of the treatment, or is it because you're
401
:paying attention to people, uh, and you're
giving them care, uh, and that's going
402
:to make them somewhat, uh, better, you
know, unless they've been run over by a
403
:truck, attention is going to be useful.
404
:Um, even in things that you think of as
not being all that treatable like cancer.
405
:Giving people attention and
caring, uh, has a positive benefit.
406
:Anyway, so, um, what's also important
is that we understand the triggers
407
:and the things that increase
our risk of getting things like
408
:cancer that was mentioned earlier.
409
:And being in a nutrition department,
um, and treating people with
410
:obesity, I'm convinced that nutrition
is a very important factor in,
411
:uh, our health and our future.
412
:So, um, one of the things, uh, we
wanted to do was study, not the
413
:people that are usually studied.
414
:So in healthcare, you study people
who already have cancer, uh, and you
415
:see what treatment works in them.
416
:And that's clearly very important.
417
:But in some ways, even more important
is to understand who's at risk and who,
418
:what you can do to reduce people's risk
of becoming a patient, uh, down the road.
419
:So we wanted to do a study, not of older
people with diseases already, but of
420
:young people before they got diseases.
421
:And George Mason undergraduates
seemed like a really good group to
422
:study because they're very diverse.
423
:It's a very diverse university.
424
:It kind of mirrors the United
States and to some extent the world.
425
:Um, so, you know, very often when
studies were done in past years, it
426
:was restricted to middle class, upper
middle class white guys, uh, because
427
:those are the people who are running the
studies and those are the people they
428
:tended to recruit and the results were
applicable to middle class white guys.
429
:Um, and yet you want it to be
applicable to a broader range of people.
430
:And we've learned over the years
that middle class white guys are not
431
:necessarily representative of, you know,
what other populations like women and
432
:minorities and people of different,
you know, uh, ethnic origins, um, are
433
:going to be at risk for an experience.
434
:So.
435
:George Mason undergrads, the
perfect mirror of the United States.
436
:And, uh, we wanted to know what they
do, what they eat, what their physical
437
:activity is, what their mental health is,
what their attitudes are, um, and follow
438
:them throughout their time at George Mason
as undergraduates for four, four, four
439
:years, at least, and see how that evolved.
440
:And it so happened that we started
this around the time Harsha was
441
:starting, um, Jiva, and uh, it
was right before the pandemic.
442
:And so our first, it's called a
cohort, the, the year, the freshmen
443
:in:we studied, the first cohort.
444
:And that was before the pandemic.
445
:Um, so we have data on
a bunch of young adults.
446
:Uh, and we limited it to, you
know, we didn't want the people
447
:returning to college at age 50.
448
:We wanted the people, you know, who
recently graduated from high school
449
:and were starting college because they
were the ones who were in essence,
450
:the The cleanest, the purest in terms
of understanding what diet and other
451
:health behaviors are going to do.
452
:All right, I'm going on far longer than
you wanted me to probably, but we turn
453
:to Harsha to help us with organizing
and making that kind of study happen.
454
:Tim Winkler: Yeah, interesting, uh, study
also, uh, nice shout out to George Mason.
455
:I'm a, uh, alumni as well.
456
:So, uh, love to see, uh, the
university continuing to grow.
457
:Lawrence Cheskin: The IRB has just
given us permission to, uh, ask alumni.
458
:To, uh, uh, fill out, see what happens,
you know, when you're out of the, the
459
:cloistered environment of the university,
460
:Tim Winkler: I'll connect
with you after the pod.
461
:We'll see, we'll see if
I could submit my data.
462
:Um, all right.
463
:So, so now I think we've painted a
good picture of, of how, you know,
464
:you all kind of came into connection.
465
:Now I'd like to just talk a little
bit more about, you know, how has
466
:the Jiva clinical trials technology.
467
:Help streamline a study like this, you
know, where, where were there gaps, uh,
468
:along the way with, within some of this
clinical research that your technology
469
:is, is solving those pain points.
470
:Harsha.
471
:Harsha Rajasimha: Yeah.
472
:Great question, Tim.
473
:Um, and, um, you know, when I was, uh,
getting started, we had a team from Mason.
474
:Um, we went out to what is called
the NSF I Corps program after
475
:graduating the Mason's ICAP program.
476
:The innovation, commercialization,
um, um, acceleration program, which
477
:essentially encourages you to get out
of the building, go talk to customers
478
:and figure out what their pain points
are before you build anything, right?
479
:And, uh, to even make a decision whether
there is a need for, uh, unmet need in
480
:the industry that you are trying to fill.
481
:If not, most companies fail
because they build something
482
:nobody wants or nobody cares about.
483
:And we, we didn't want to fall into
the trap and we are thankful for having
484
:met, uh, Bob, uh, uh, Smith and, uh,
Josh Green at the GMU iCAP who got us
485
:oriented in this fashion very early
on, and that did a whole lot of good.
486
:So when we started speaking with Larry.
487
:We learned the various,
uh, existing tools.
488
:Um, and so randomized control clinical
trials, like Larry said, have been running
489
:since:
490
:Although the electronic and
digital aspects are more recent,
491
:uh, from the early two thousands
is when the d guidance of 20
492
:data capture.
493
:Electronic data, but not so much also
resulting in silos and point solutions,
494
:some for managing the clinical study as
a project, some for managing just the
495
:data part of it entered by the clinical
researchers, some for patient engagement,
496
:and soon after:
497
:And so suddenly we were in a new norm.
498
:A state of confusion for a period
of time before we gotta a new norm.
499
:And so, uh, that resulted in a lot of
remote engagement type technologies
500
:and tools that came about very rapidly
in a very short period of time.
501
:And so we realized as we were starting
to build out the tech in:
502
::is the divine contract between
503
:the researchers and the patients.
504
:And we needed, uh, to ensure continuity
of clinical research during the pandemic.
505
:We needed a way to obtain electronic
signatures and informed consent remotely
506
:beyond what a DocuSign would do.
507
:I mean, it's not just the signature,
but did the subjects actually understand
508
:What they are getting into the risk and
benefit and can we verify comprehension?
509
:So we designed a, um, human centric
informed consenting platform that
510
:could scale and then ability to collect
patient reported outcomes data directly
511
:from the patients on text messages,
email, questionnaires and surveys with
512
:complex branching logic and skip logic.
513
:So, when we spoke with Larry, they
were already using existing tools,
514
:one for managing the study, one for
doing the questionnaires and surveys.
515
:They had a rather 90 minute
questionnaire and a 60 minute
516
:questionnaire with 900 questions.
517
:With depending on male, female and other
questions, they would answer specific set
518
:of group of questions that were unique to
them and so needed a very robust platform.
519
:So, what was exciting for us was to
really address these inefficiencies.
520
:We had to bring everything in 1 login
in 1 centralized unified platform.
521
:And so while we started building
point solutions in the beginning.
522
:It soon became apparent that we
needed to bring these point solutions
523
:in a unified platform, which we
did over the last five, six years.
524
:But when we started working and
collaborating with Larry, the opportunity
525
:was really to save time for the clinical
researchers in and avoiding having
526
:to log into three different places.
527
:They only had to have a single login.
528
:And into a single tool where
all the data was in one place.
529
:Tim Winkler: Yeah.
530
:So it's, it sounds to me like, uh,
you know, it, the pandemic kind
531
:of, it fueled a lot of this because
everything was kind of going a bit
532
:more online at that time anyways, but.
533
:Um, having a unified platform to where,
you know, the ease of getting, uh, folks
534
:to, you know, to, to, to get on board,
to get their information uploaded.
535
:Um, it's half the battle, I
think, in a lot of these studies.
536
:Right.
537
:And so, um, getting that
out and presented, um, seems
538
:like a, a great use case.
539
:So that was your, you know, what,
what was the kind of like, I guess
540
:the first iteration of this was.
541
:Is, is Larry's, um, you know, and, and
the George Mason study one, one of the
542
:earlier ones that you all have done or,
you know, is this something that you've
543
:been iterating on, you know, over, you
know, number of years at this point?
544
:Harsha Rajasimha: Absolutely.
545
:It, it's been a, uh, work in
progress, iterating, uh, you know,
546
:we are on a journey to really, uh.
547
:The, uh, effect the randomized controlled
clinical trials in phase 1, phase
548
:2, phase 3, ultimately leading to a
submission to the regulators like FDA
549
:for review and marketing approvals.
550
:And so to really get to that phase 3.
551
:Uh, which are the largest, uh,
uh, sample size or, um, largest
552
:clinical trials before approval.
553
:And of course, phase four post market
studies can also be much larger.
554
:And there are observational studies
like the one that Larry mentioned,
555
:where there is, we are not really giving
any, um, using drugs or interventions.
556
:But rather measuring what what's
going on, the behavior, lifestyle,
557
:food, nutrition, and so on.
558
:So these observational studies are
low risk, where we are gathering data,
559
:analyzing data, and understanding
from a scientific curiosity and
560
:drawing correlations and insights,
clinical insights and health insights,
561
:which is really a gold mine of
data that can be used to answer
562
:a variety of different questions.
563
:Uh, but ultimately, this is the starting
point where we, uh, validated our
564
:platform in an academic, uh, research
setting, uh, then leading towards, uh,
565
:building, uh, the more randomization and.
566
:Electronic data capture as per
the FDA guidance leading to more
567
:regulated clinical trials in early
phases, phase one, phase two.
568
:So that's where the company is today
and we are working our way eventually
569
:towards those larger phase 3 trials
leading to regulatory submissions.
570
:And so that's, that's basically the
baby steps needed to get through
571
:in this regulated environment.
572
:Mike Gruen: That's cool.
573
:One of the things I think about,
like what startups a lot is
574
:focus and not like sort of.
575
:Not having that sort of focus because
as you were talking about your platform
576
:and what it's capable of doing right
as an outsider, I can't help but
577
:like, think, oh, I see applicability
here and I see applicability there
578
:and I see applicability there.
579
:And if you have like the wrong
people involved, I feel like
580
:it's very easy for a company.
581
:Sort of lose its path and I, um,
I'm curious, like, have you found
582
:that to be the case if you've been
like razor focused and not had
583
:to, like, really deal with that?
584
:Or like, have you got like, it
sounds like that's the case that you
585
:guys have been pretty laser focused
on on what you want to achieve.
586
:But I'm curious, like,
have you experienced those?
587
:Like, Oh, we could maybe we
should pivot into this or maybe
588
:we could help in that space.
589
:Harsha Rajasimha: Um, absolutely.
590
:We have had to go through some,
some pivots as the industry has been
591
:moving rapidly since the pandemic,
you know, uh, and otherwise slow.
592
:Uh, adopter of technology,
life science industry.
593
:Wait, there are slow adopter.
594
:Oh, yeah,
595
:Tim Winkler: absolutely.
596
:Sarcasm, uh, cued.
597
:Harsha Rajasimha: Yeah.
598
:You know, in healthcare, it said that,
um, While hundreds and thousands of
599
:new applications and digital tech
is being developed and thrown and
600
:marketed every day, the actual part of
delivering care between a doctor and a
601
:patient, that's seldom changing, right?
602
:I mean, it is changing a little bit.
603
:Relative to how much tech is being talked
about and new tools being developed.
604
:And so, uh, the other thing that I was
thinking about when Larry was speaking
605
:about the importance of nutrition in
obesity and others, there is an old
606
:adage in, um, ancestral Indian families
that says essentially to the effect
607
:that those who understand how to speak,
we'll never have battles or fights.
608
:And those who understand how
to eat will never have disease.
609
:And so that's how important knowing what
to eat, how much to eat and when to eat
610
:and all that, it's an art and science.
611
:Uh, and it's kind of ancestral wisdom that
kind of gets passed on and it gets lost
612
:in the mix as to why we do what we do and,
uh, all that, but, uh, Where I was going
613
:with this is, um, essentially, uh, the
clinical research, um, industry has been
614
:moving as we, we have been developing.
615
:And so we had to pivot.
616
:And what we realized is if we have to
stay in the academic observational,
617
:Uh, clinical studies, uh, space, that's
one thing, but our vision is really
618
:to help speed up therapy development
process, uh, life saving treatments for
619
:rare genetic cancer and other severe
diseases where the requirements are
620
:much more stringent and the bar is
higher from a regulatory point of view.
621
:And so, uh, we have been
continuously innovating and
622
:adjusting to the new guidelines
that came out during the pandemic.
623
:Many of those guidances have remained,
some of them have gone, and even
624
:though regulators are encouraging
more remote patient engagement.
625
:The industry has not necessarily embraced
it as much after the pandemic went away.
626
:Uh, some have gone back to the old
way of doing things, but we are
627
:somewhere in a hybrid study state now.
628
:And so we had to adapt to this hybrid
mode of running clinical studies.
629
:And as the platform evolved, we took
those into consideration in pivoting.
630
:Another thing we learned is
that just throwing tech at the
631
:problem is not the solution.
632
:No, we need to bring tech with people who
are trained to use the tech in a compliant
633
:way, along with standard operating
procedures and the quality management,
634
:which is so critical in the space.
635
:And so, uh, people process technology all
in together to offer either a software
636
:solution or software plus CRO solution
or a contract research organization.
637
:Where it's a turnkey solution
where we can take on a protocol
638
:and help execute the full study.
639
:And that's where we, uh, we are now
collaborating with Larry and Mason in ways
640
:in which we can bring additional clinical
research and trials into the Commonwealth.
641
:For testing medical devices or drugs and
other products, um, where, um, necessarily
642
:we don't need a hospital system, right?
643
:A clinic is sufficient in many,
many instances, especially
644
:for low risk type products.
645
:So we're super excited about
the pivots we had to make and
646
:doing them at the right time.
647
:Uh, and also just being part of
this DMV, uh, investor ecosystem.
648
:We, we got.
649
:Early guidance coming down.
650
:Hey guys, you know, you may want to
cut some cost and stay put the market
651
:is not looking When the recession
came about in:
652
:So we had to take certain corrective
measures, uh, at the right, uh,
653
:in a timely fashion as well.
654
:Tim Winkler: I'm just curious from
a, like a business development
655
:perspective, Harsha, you know, um,
you know, how, how do you, uh, how do
656
:you put together that plan to, to get.
657
:You know, your technology in the hands
of, you know, for example, this is in
658
:a, in a university kind of setting, you
know, what, what, how are you prioritizing
659
:like, you know, your target market?
660
:What does that target market look like?
661
:And then.
662
:Um, how do you, how do you get
that technology injected in?
663
:Harsha Rajasimha: Yeah, great question.
664
:You know, our ideal customer is really
clinical stage, biopharmaceutical,
665
:nutraceutical, uh, medical device
companies that are getting through
666
:their early, uh, clinical studies.
667
:And, uh, academic medical centers and
professors can be important collaborators
668
:for us, uh, in, uh, teaming up with our
software solution and the CRO solution.
669
:As ultimately, it's the clinical
researchers who can guide what
670
:endpoints need to be measured and
how we can demonstrate safety,
671
:efficacy of a product, right?
672
:Whether it's a drug or a device.
673
:And so, uh, that's how we approach
it is with the mindset that.
674
:We need to sell to, uh, clinical
stage, early stage biopharmaceutical
675
:sponsors and collaborate with academic,
uh, clinical researchers to make
676
:this all work well with our human
centric efficient software platform.
677
:Tim Winkler: Yeah.
678
:And I, you know, just kind of scanning
your background in the past as well,
679
:um, then you spent some time at NIH,
I guess throughout your career, some
680
:of those, um, you know, previous
relationships, how have those played into.
681
:You know, helping you advance
this company, if it's.
682
:Through partnerships, through funding,
what have you, I'm, I'm, I always
683
:like to see like, uh, you know,
that journey and then pick a part,
684
:you know, how, how this stop here
helped you in this current position
685
:of, you know, being an entrepreneur.
686
:Harsha Rajasimha: Yeah,
no, great question.
687
:And, uh, rightly so, uh, right from my
elementary school friends, all the way
688
:through my, um, last job, uh, where
I held at entity data, I think every.
689
:Where I had several people who have played
an important role in my journey already.
690
:Um, whether as like one of
the 25 investors who have put
691
:their money into the company.
692
:Or making, uh, warm introductions and
connections or simply providing their
693
:time, you know, offering, uh, an hour of
time talking to people who are involved in
694
:clinical research, uh, from Virginia Tech.
695
:When I went to grad school there from one
to seven, uh, the School of Medicine was
696
:not yet established, but uh, it later got
established or, um, and, and so, uh, there
697
:is Carilion Clinic and vt, uh, som now.
698
:So, I had the opportunity to go back
to my alma mater and participate in
699
:the RAMC Regional Acceleration Program
there in the Roanoke Blacksburg
700
:Technology Corridor, which further took
me more from where NSF I Corps left
701
:us into Further validating the value
prop product market fit and so on.
702
:So, so I think, uh, uh, from, uh,
everywhere, uh, from elementary school
703
:till now, I've had numerous touch points.
704
:You know, my wife has invested in
the company, uh, as well as, uh, uh,
705
:several people that I have spoken
with, um, uh, who have helped in many
706
:different ways, even on LinkedIn.
707
:Every day I am amazed at how people
have never met even till date are
708
:coming forth with a generous spirit
of support and mission, you know, uh,
709
:parents affected by rare diseases.
710
:appreciating, uh, how we are
supporting NF1 clinical trials.
711
:We just paid a pledge here today that we
are going to make our software platform
712
:available to all NF1 clinical trials,
which means there's only one patient
713
:in the FDA regulated clinical trial for
a, it's an ultra, ultra rare disease.
714
:There is no other patient
affected by the disease.
715
:And The regulators are going to make
it possible for them to try a new
716
:therapy like an antisense oligotherapy
or some novel therapy on one patient
717
:and for how much budget would there
be for a one patient clinical trial
718
:and to support these families we
have made the software platform
719
:fully available at no cost to them.
720
:Wow, that's wonderful.
721
:Tim Winkler: And so, you know, it's an
area that we, we dive deep into on the, on
722
:the podcast, actually, um, you know, uh,
we, we've been talking a bit, a bit about
723
:it more into, uh, settings like within
the government, like defense tech, right.
724
:Uh, you know, this, this, uh, kind of
changing of the guard where, There's, uh,
725
:it's known that, you know, uh, they can't
keep up, uh, at the speed of some of the
726
:commercial technology that's out there.
727
:How do we take commercial technology,
inject it into more regulated
728
:industries like defense, you know,
healthcare is obviously a, uh, uh,
729
:a fantastic example of this as well.
730
:And it sounds like, you know, Jiva
clinical trials is really hitting a, um,
731
:a sweet spot in a very specific area,
uh, to, to move innovation forward.
732
:Yeah.
733
:Harsha Rajasimha: Absolutely.
734
:You know, we have a SBIR proposal due
with NIH fast track proposal, uh, the
735
:Virginia Venture Partners, uh, have
a phase zero grant from VIPC, uh, to
736
:submit these phase one, phase two SBIRs.
737
:And, uh, inspired by the study at Mason,
um, we are actually proposing several
738
:state and local governments to create
a database of, um, all citizens in,
739
:say, um, the Commonwealth of Virginia.
740
:If we can gather all the data and
centralize that and make that available
741
:for biomedical research, that can be
a gold mine of data, uh, especially
742
:over a period of 5, 10, 15 years.
743
:Thank you.
744
:Repository like that, right?
745
:Uh, and then make it available to
the biotech industry to, to analyze,
746
:draw insights from AI and machine
learning to identify what subset of
747
:patients would need what, like even
healthy, uh, aging disease, right?
748
:As people are naturally get
diagnosed with new conditions.
749
:And there are similar programs
from NIH, the All of Us Research
750
:Program or the Million Veterans
Program of the VA and others.
751
:So I think there's a lot of
opportunity here to essentially Take
752
:clinical research to every household
753
:Tim Winkler: before we kind
of close on the main topic and
754
:transition to our final segment.
755
:Uh, any, any final words from you,
Larry, in terms of, you know, the,
756
:the partnership, the experience you've
had and where you see the, the future
757
:of, uh, this type of partnership
between Jeeva and George Mason.
758
:Lawrence Cheskin: I think one of
the major benefits to partners,
759
:uh, with Jiva is that it frees
up researchers and scientists and
760
:clinicians from the sort of, and
you've all heard about, increasingly
761
:practitioners spend more and more
time, you know, filling out paperwork.
762
:And dotting the I's and crossing the
T's and justifying, you know, what
763
:their decisions are and the sort of
services and platform that Jiva provides
764
:enables me to focus on what, you know,
is maybe the highest use of my effort,
765
:which is to create new knowledge.
766
:And hopefully advance, uh, the
fields that I'm working in.
767
:Tim Winkler: Yeah.
768
:Well said, um,
769
:Mike Gruen: Mike, did you have something
I didn't know if you were going to,
770
:no, no, I was just thinking about
the, how much, like when you have, um,
771
:the nice thing about startups, right.
772
:They're usually very responsive to the
needs of a customer or client, especially
773
:an early adopter, that type of stuff.
774
:And if you can get that right
partnership, um, it's amazing what
775
:the two can sort of achieve together.
776
:Um, and just, you know, what Larry
is talking about, sort of, you know,
777
:Rang true with my experience as well.
778
:And so that's probably what you picked
up on was, um, because I think that is
779
:a great, that's a great thing, right?
780
:When you're, you want to focus on
delivering your service and you want to
781
:find someone, you want to offload that and
working with a startup, if you were to try
782
:and find like a big, large company or big
con, you know, whatever things get missed
783
:and they're not really in it necessarily
for the, for the same reasons, there's
784
:not that alignment of, um, purpose.
785
:So it's always awesome to say.
786
:Tim Winkler: Yeah, that's why I love
this format because you kind of hear
787
:it, you kind of hear it firsthand.
788
:So it's, that's cool.
789
:Harsha Rajasimha: Yeah,
you're absolutely right.
790
:It's been a valuable collaboration with
Larry in getting guidance as we were
791
:building out early on as well and over
the years helped us mature and build all
792
:the right features to save researchers
anywhere from 30 percent to 70 percent of
793
:their time and effort and burden involved
in operational and logistical part of
794
:clinical research so they can actually
focus more on science and medicine.
795
:And that's, that's, that's been
our motto right from the beginning
796
:is to save time and speed up the
process and drive efficiency.
797
:Tim Winkler: Yeah, it's also
just a great entry point, right?
798
:I think, um, you know, having that
case study under your belt and then
799
:building on that and expanding into
XYZ universities along the East Coast.
800
:You know, I think there's a.
801
:A lot of opportunity there for a,
a startup to, um, yeah, to really
802
:get their technology in the hands of
users that at scale, which is usually
803
:a large struggle, uh, to begin with.
804
:Harsha Rajasimha: It's, uh,
uh, it's an exciting time.
805
:Tim, uh, you know, with, uh, a lot
of the ai, uh, investments going in
806
:the drug discovery space, um, yeah.
807
:Uh, there is, uh, more candidate
drugs being predicted by ai.
808
:Then the ability to test them in
clinical trials and so, uh, efficient,
809
:uh, AI driven software platforms for
clinical trial is going to be, uh, super
810
:critical to get through the next wave
of drug candidates and novel therapies.
811
:So we are excited to be where
we are, uh, especially in the
812
:Commonwealth of Virginia, where.
813
:We have a coordinated clinical
research network with 14 hospitals
814
:in across the commonwealth connected.
815
:So, um, I'm excited about our
collaboration with Mason and the
816
:VCCRN to bring, attract more clinical
trials to the, this region as well.
817
:Tim Winkler: Yeah, absolutely.
818
:I mean, DMV is just a hotbed
for, for health tech and, uh,
819
:you know, have so many large
government organizations here too.
820
:To kind of help aid with some of that.
821
:So, uh, good location to, to
build a health tech startup.
822
:We've got a couple of upcoming episodes,
uh, specifically around like navigating
823
:the, uh, compliance maze and, and, and
health tech, and then, um, you know, the
824
:future of, of AI and healthcare as well.
825
:So.
826
:Um, this will be a good kind of kickoff
to, you know, a short mini series
827
:and some of our health care episodes.
828
:Um, excellent.
829
:Well, I do want to make sure that we save
enough time here for the final segment,
830
:which is the five second scramble.
831
:So, uh, this is going to be just
a fun segment where we do a little
832
:bit of a rapid fire Q and A.
833
:Uh, we'll ask a little bit of business,
a little bit of personal, um, Mike, why
834
:don't you lead us off with Larry and
then I'll get, uh, uh, get to Harsha.
835
:Sounds good.
836
:All
837
:Mike Gruen: right.
838
:And also, uh, the questions will
be different, so don't take notes.
839
:Um, so yeah, so Larry, uh, what's
like one piece of advice you'd give
840
:founders of health tech startups
we're looking for or working with?
841
:Lawrence Cheskin: Um, I guess I would
tell them to listen, uh, because,
842
:you know, most startups have a
product and a way of doing things.
843
:And you know, the, the best advice
I can give is to, you know, make
844
:sure that you're being responsive
to the needs of the client.
845
:Mike Gruen: Um, Transcribed by
846
:Lawrence Cheskin: https: otter.
847
:ai
848
:Mike Gruen: Um, what do you think is
the biggest challenge facing college
849
:students in:
850
:Lawrence Cheskin: Biggest challenge facing
college students is the, the changing
851
:economy and the changing skillset.
852
:that you need to function in that economy.
853
:Um, so, you know, when I graduated
from college, you, you majored in a
854
:field, you, you, uh, studied up, you
learned it, and you went into a job
855
:where you were in a place and you had a
boss and, uh, you showed up every day.
856
:And now there's virtual work, there
is AI that can potentially replace or
857
:supplement much of what you're doing.
858
:And you need to really understand what
the new landscape is like and adapt.
859
:Harsha Rajasimha: Yeah, if you are in the
junior or senior year this year, then you
860
:have a very difficult choice of whom to
vote in the presidential election as well.
861
:Mike Gruen: That's
862
:Tim Winkler: a
863
:Mike Gruen: challenge.
864
:What's the biggest challenge
facing college educators in:
865
:Lawrence Cheskin: I would say that
866
:working with a very diverse group
of students who have had all sorts
867
:of experiences and all sorts of,
uh, inclinations can be very, uh,
868
:challenging and exciting at the same time.
869
:Awesome.
870
:George Mason is a perfect example of
the diversity, uh, uh, uh, factor.
871
:Mike Gruen: Um, don't doubt it.
872
:Um.
873
:Uh, what's the best piece of
advice you've ever been given?
874
:Lawrence Cheskin: Follow your instincts.
875
:Mike Gruen: Uh, what's a book you
think every entrepreneur should read?
876
:Lawrence Cheskin: I don't know.
877
:I've never read any entrepreneurial books.
878
:Mike Gruen: Awesome.
879
:I love it.
880
:That's the, uh, that's a great answer.
881
:Great question, Mike.
882
:What was that?
883
:Great question, Mike.
884
:You know.
885
:Ask Harsha that one.
886
:I mean, you never know.
887
:Um,
888
:they can't all be winners.
889
:All right.
890
:So, uh, what was your
favorite cereal as a kid?
891
:Lawrence Cheskin: Uh,
892
:Cheerios.
893
:I like the name.
894
:I like the taste.
895
:And I learned recently,
it's got some oat fiber.
896
:Mike Gruen: You do anything with
them or just plain with milk?
897
:Lawrence Cheskin: Can I just
play with him in the milk?
898
:Mike Gruen: Uh, I used to at
least put some sugar on there,
899
:uh, when I was little, um,
900
:Lawrence Cheskin: I wasn't allowed to,
901
:Mike Gruen: um, what's the, uh,
largest land animal you think
902
:you could take in a street fight?
903
:Lawrence Cheskin: Hmm.
904
:I think probably a, uh, a
sheep who would be pushing it
905
:on our farm and they like to headbutt.
906
:Yeah.
907
:So if you're alert though, and you see it
coming, you can probably, uh, defeat them.
908
:Uh, but if you turn your
back, you're in deep trouble.
909
:Mike Gruen: Nice.
910
:Um.
911
:Hmm.
912
:Hmm.
913
:What's the most, uh, what's one
piece of outdated technology
914
:you can't live without?
915
:Lawrence Cheskin: I don't use my
protractor anymore or my slide roll.
916
:Um, so, um, outdated.
917
:Mike Gruen: That you
just can't live without.
918
:I still have a
919
:Lawrence Cheskin: VCR.
920
:All right.
921
:I've got a whole collection of tapes.
922
:I don't play him that often, but
I don't want to get part with him.
923
:Yeah, that's a
924
:Mike Gruen: great answer.
925
:That is actually my son and
I were just talking about, he
926
:was asking if we had a VCR.
927
:I can't remember why.
928
:And I was like, no, we don't.
929
:Tim Winkler: Yeah, we've got one
just to watch old family videos,
930
:you know, old holiday gatherings.
931
:Lawrence Cheskin: But I did get
rid of the beta Mac some years ago.
932
:Mike Gruen: Oh,
933
:Lawrence Cheskin: nice.
934
:Good for you.
935
:You guys don't even know what that is.
936
:Probably
937
:Mike Gruen: my family is
one of the first ones.
938
:We had a beta and then we went to VHS.
939
:I'm older than I look.
940
:Um, and my dad's in TV.
941
:Um, so, uh, what's the charity
or, uh, corporate philanthropy
942
:that's, uh, near and dear to you?
943
:Lawrence Cheskin: The Burley
Manor Animal Sanctuary.
944
:Not that I have any vested
interest in this, but www.
945
:burleymanorretreat.
946
:org, that's, that's our farm.
947
:Yes, I picked up on it.
948
:Mike Gruen: Awesome.
949
:Um, last question.
950
:If you could live in any fictional
universe, which one would you choose?
951
:Lawrence Cheskin: Hmm.
952
:This is going to date me
also, but the Jetsons.
953
:Nice.
954
:Nice.
955
:One of my favorite shows
when I was a young kid.
956
:Really good.
957
:Mike Gruen: Any particular reason?
958
:Lawrence Cheskin: Cause I always liked
science fiction and flying around.
959
:Nice.
960
:Yeah.
961
:Where's my flying car?
962
:Tim Winkler: Yeah.
963
:I was going to say Star Trek
could have been, uh, another
964
:one after our intro calls.
965
:All right.
966
:Thank you much.
967
:Good stuff.
968
:All right, Harsh.
969
:You ready?
970
:Yes.
971
:All right.
972
:Uh, describe the culture
at Jiva clinical trials.
973
:Harsha Rajasimha: So we have a culture
of, uh, uh, get it done and do it right.
974
:Um, I, and, uh, essentially that's what
helped us in, um, saving time, being
975
:efficient ourselves internally, because
we are trying in the business of helping
976
:clinical researchers be more efficient.
977
:And we got to achieve a lot, uh,
with very little resources in house.
978
:And so, uh, just getting it done
is not enough, but doing it right
979
:in, in terms of using less of other
people's time and other resources,
980
:that's, I would say one of the five
parts of our culture, but that's the
981
:80 percent of the culture as well.
982
:Tim Winkler: That's cool.
983
:What kind of technologist
thrives at Jeeva?
984
:Harsha Rajasimha: Um, someone who, uh,
thinks, uh, who comes with, uh, ideas and
985
:understanding of the specific problems
we are trying to solve and who aligns
986
:with the mission of the organization.
987
:You know, uh, we are not just
another tech company, um, out
988
:there to build a me to solution.
989
:Uh, we are here to change the
world and so someone who comes
990
:with that, uh, mindset, uh, who has
motivations and that align with our
991
:mission, uh, to make a difference.
992
:I think, uh, irrespective of whether it's
technologist or, uh, business development
993
:or clinical researcher manager.
994
:Any role, uh, that's very
key is a mission alignment.
995
:Tim Winkler: Speaking of the
roles, what, what kind of
996
:tech roles are you hiring for?
997
:Harsha Rajasimha: Uh, data
scientist and AI ML will be, uh,
998
:top for next, uh, 12 to 18 months.
999
:Uh, as we have, uh, several grant
proposals that we are waiting on and also
::
raising capital to Uh, higher and, uh,
essentially make now that we have much of,
::
uh, most of the necessary, uh, software
modules built out in the unified platform.
::
Uh, the next step is really to drive
efficiency and automation, uh, and,
::
uh, capitalizing on the data as we
now have over 10, 000 users on the
::
platform, uh, to now look at a I M
L, uh, to optimize the workloads.
::
Tim Winkler: Describe
your morning routine.
::
Harsha Rajasimha: Um, I, um, uh, you
know, wake up, uh, usually around 7 a.
::
m.
::
and get, uh, uh, ready for my 8 a.
::
m.
::
call.
::
Uh, and before that, I try to do
some pushups and some mild workout,
::
uh, to get some blood flowing.
::
And I start usually with my
product team in the morning.
::
I keep 8 a.
::
m.
::
to 10 a.
::
m.
::
block for product and technology
thinking time with the team sometimes
::
and without the team on my own.
::
But 10 a.
::
m.
::
onwards is my, Um, sales and business
development time with customers.
::
Uh, but, uh, the morning is product.
::
What about breakfast
is breakfast breakfast?
::
It depends on my wife.
::
If, if, uh, uh, because I come
down, I go straight into my meetings
::
and most of the time, my wife.
::
Uh, if she's home, she
brings me breakfast.
::
And so I closed my
camera and grab a quick,
::
Tim Winkler: this sounds
like an entrepreneur.
::
Right there.
::
Oh yeah.
::
What's an area of tech that you are most
excited to see impact the healthcare
::
industry in the next five years?
::
Harsha Rajasimha: Yeah.
::
So I think, uh, AR, VR, um, uh, especially
in, um, remote patient engagement,
::
uh, given for to our mission of taking
clinical research to, uh, patient's homes.
::
Engaging patients, uh, remotely,
uh, involves that augmented
::
reality, virtual reality.
::
Uh, can make a big difference in not
making them feel like they are not
::
physically present in, in, in the
ambience and, uh, in, in the place
::
that they are imagining, like a clinic
or a hospital or whatever that is.
::
Uh, so I think that, uh, coupled
with the tech we have already built
::
and continuing to innovate, I think
ARVR could be a useful add on to us.
::
Tim Winkler: What is your
favorite app on your phone?
::
LinkedIn.
::
Nice.
::
What's a charity or corporate
philanthropy that's near and dear to you?
::
Harsha Rajasimha: Um, uh, philanthropic
organization that I, uh, founded,
::
uh, about six years ago, the Indo U.
::
S.
::
organization for rare diseases,
um, uh, which, uh, mission to
::
bridge collaborations among various
stakeholders of rare disease research.
::
And patient advocates between United
States and Indian subcontinent.
::
Um, essentially it's near and
dear to me at various levels.
::
You know, uh, one it's personal because
of my connection to rare disease.
::
Uh, and two, it's personal because
of my connection to my biological
::
motherland and adopted motherland.
::
Uh, bringing all together
and my professional career.
::
So it's pretty much like.
::
Uh, and so that's my favorite, uh, cool.
::
Tim Winkler: Yeah.
::
We'll plug that in the show notes as well.
::
When the, when the episodes
released, um, if you could have
::
dinner with any celebrity past
or present, who would it be with,
::
Harsha Rajasimha: uh, Bill Gates?
::
Tim Winkler: Nice.
::
Yeah.
::
What is the worst fashion trend
that you've ever followed?
::
Harsha Rajasimha: I, I, uh, I have
tried a piece of cloth called lungi,
::
uh, which is basically like you just
wrap around, uh, your, the lower part
::
of your body without, there's no shorts.
::
Well, we'll
::
Tim Winkler: have to get
::
Harsha Rajasimha: photo evidence of this.
::
I'll send you a video of the dance.
::
Uh, you know, there's something called
Lungi dance, uh, with, with music.
::
So I'll, I'll share that.
::
It's fun.
::
How do you, how do you spell it?
::
L U N G I.
::
Tim Winkler: Okay.
::
We're, we're looking this
up right after we wrap.
::
Harsha Rajasimha: You can Google Lungi
dance, L U N G I dance and you'll find it.
::
Tim Winkler: Awesome.
::
Okay.
::
Uh, and the last question, what
was your dream job as a kid?
::
Harsha Rajasimha: Um, to
be a ticket collector.
::
A ticket collector on a train, so I
could travel all around the country.
::
A
::
Tim Winkler: good answer.
::
Um, awesome.
::
Oh, that is a, a wrap on the episode.
::
I wanted to thank you guys
again for, for joining us.
::
You've been both fantastic guests.
::
Uh, thanks for sharing your
knowledge and the, the clinical
::
research and trial space.
::
And, uh, of course we're rooting
for you all to Continue advancing in
::
the space, uh, that you're working
in and moving the industry forward.
::
So thanks for joining us on the pod.
::
Thank you.
::
Thanks for having us.
::
Lawrence Cheskin: Some great questions.
::
Tim Winkler: Appreciate it.
::
Thank you all.