Targeting the Toughest Diseases

Rachel Benton is a loving mother to an adorable 2-year-old boy named Stetson. Stetson doesn’t know it, but he may have already saved his mom’s life. A routine medical checkup, that Rachel only had because she was pregnant, showed protein in her urine. That discovery led to a biopsy and ultimately a diagnosis of IgA nephropathy – a serious kidney disease.With patients like Rachel in mind, the research team at Vertex Pharmaceuticals is working on new approaches to address IgA nephropathy.Produced by Bloomberg Media Studios and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.-----------------------Featured guests:Rachel Benton is a young mother who lives with IgA nephropathy.Dr. Jonathan Barratt leads the Renal Research Group within the College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester.Mark Bunnage is Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.Dr Manish Maski is a board-certified nephrologist and helps lead Vertex’s research into IgA nephropathy in Boston.Read more about Vertex's commitment to targeting kidney disease Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

John Killian’s son was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) as a toddler. Until recently, children with DMD were not expected to live beyond their teens. The disease weakens the body's muscles and cognitive functions, which can lead to premature death. John’s son is now college-bound, thanks to the help of medical advancements that target the symptoms of the disease. Geneticist Dr. Alison McVie-Wylie and the research team at Vertex hope to move past only treating the symptoms of DMD by addressing the disease at its root cause.Produced by Bloomberg Media Studios and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Featured guests:John Killian is the proud father of Sam Killian, who lives with DMD.Mena Scavina is a Neurologist and Clinical Director at Nemours Children's Health and a Clinical Care Team Advisor at Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy.Jon Rey-Hastie is the Co-Founder of Pathfinders Neuromuscular AllianceDavid Altshuler is the former Chief Scientific Officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.Alison McVie-Wylie is a Vice President leading the Muscular Dystrophies Disease Strategy Team at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.Read more about Vertex's approach to targeting Duchenne muscular dystrophy.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Damian Sanchez, (Damian J to music fans) is a Miami-based jazz musician. A car accident landed him in the hospital with multiple fractures to his leg. Once there, he faced the difficult decision of whether or not to take the pain medication that was offered to him. With patients like Damian in mind, Dr. Paul Negulescu and the research team at Vertex are thinking differently about pain – they’re investigating potential non-opioid based treatment options that aim to target pain differently.Produced by Bloomberg Media Studios and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Featured guests:Damian Sanchez is a Miami-based jazz musician. He is the founder of the Damian J Foundation.Norm Buckley is the Scientific Director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care at McMaster University. David Altshuler is the former Chief Scientific Officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.Paul Negulescu is a renowned cystic fibrosis researcher and now the Senior Vice President leading the team researching pain at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.Read more about Vertex's approach to targeting pain at VRTX.com  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Madison Carter is a fearless investigative reporter. She takes no day for granted because she lives with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Dr. Doug Melton is a world-renowned stem cell researcher and distinguished fellow at Vertex – and his now grown children, Sam and Emma, live with T1D. Along with scientists like Dr. Felicia Pagliuca, who leads Vertex’s research into T1D, he’s been on a quest to help Madison, Sam, Emma, and others like them by investigating the disease at a cellular level. Produced by Bloomberg Media Studios and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.  Featured guests:Madison Carter is an investigative journalist with 11Alive News, an NBC affiliate in Atlanta, GA. She's living with type 1 diabetes. Aaron Kowalski is the President and CEO of Breakthrough T1D.Felicia Pagliuca leads research in cell and genetic therapies at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.Doug Melton leads investigations into treatments for type 1 diabetes at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. He is renowned for his stem cell research at Harvard University. Read more about Vertex's approach to targeting type 1 diabetes.Produced by Bloomberg Media Studios and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

NBA great Alonzo Mourning returned home from the Sydney Olympics after winning the gold medal feeling ill. He surprisingly was diagnosed shortly after with kidney disease. Scientists have discovered his type of kidney disease is linked to having genetic variants of the APOL1 gene – ones that 13% of African Americans carry. Dr. Ogo Egbuna leads clinical development for the team researching APOL1-mediated kidney disease at Vertex where they’re investigating a potential therapy to target its underlying cause. Alonzo Mourning is a paid spokesperson for Vertex Pharmaceuticals.Produced by Bloomberg Media Studios and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.  Featured guests:Alonzo Mourning is a retired NBA player, the Vice President of Player Programs for the Miami Heat, an advocate for kidney disease research, and a beneficiary of a kidney transplant.David Friedman is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and a Principal Investigator and Nephrologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He's researched and consulted for Vertex Pharmaceuticals.Janice Lea  is a Professor of Medicine and Clinical Director of Nephrology at Emory University School of Medicine.Ogo Egbuna is the Vice President of Clinical Development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.Read more about Vertex's approach to targeting kidney disease.Produced by Bloomberg Media Studios and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.