The World Health Organization reports that more than 600 million people suffer from lower back pain globally, making it the leading cause of disability worldwide.
Chronic lower back pain – where the pain persists for more than 3 months – develops in between 5 and 10% of all lower back pain cases, with life-altering impacts for patients.
And that’s where today’s guest, Steve Ruston, of Persica Pharmaceuticals comes in. Persica is developing a groundbreaking and transformative treatment for chronic Low Back Pain. Persica is targeting the cause of chronic lower back pain: the underlying bacterial infection. Unlike conventional approaches that manage symptoms, Persica’s drug enables the infection to clear, reducing inflammation, pain and disability at the source.
1:20 Introducing Steve Ruston of Persica Pharmaceuticals
3:53 Lessons learnt from developing blockbuster drugs
6:35 Global experiences in the biopharma industry
8:32 Persica Pharmaceuticals and its mission
10:26 Collaborations with a network of partners
11:48 A non-opioid approach to addressing lower back pain
13:35 Treating the cause, not the symptoms
15:05 How Persica’s treatment work
18:59 Practical impacts of Persica’s treatment
21:07 Identifying patients for cLBP treatment
23:24 How Persica is changing the treatment landscape
28:10 Regulatory hurdles to overcome
34:37 Securing funding for Persica’s innovation
36:16 The future of treating pain
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