Changing outcomes for drug-resistant patients

In this episode, Stacy Blain, founder, and CSO of Concarlo Therapeutics talks about how she and a team of scientists are changing outcomes for drug-resistant patients with new classes of drugs.

At Concarlo, they are developing new medications that use p27, a natural inhibitor, to stop cancer cells from multiplying in these patients, to enter the first clinical trial in 2024. For her, having an all-scientist team is valuable and has led the way and opened doors in the pharmaceutical field. She also explains why making sure everyone is seen and valued in your lab team ensures they work as a cohesive unit. Stacy encourages everyone to support science and cancer research now, not only when it hits closer to home.

Summary:

Tune in to this episode to learn about new medications for drug-resistant patients and the science behind them!

About Stacy Blain:

Dr. Blain is an internationally known expert in cell cycle and cancer biology and has been studying cell cycle regulation for more than 20 years. She is the co-founder of CONCARLO Holdings, LLC, which has the goal of developing diagnostic and therapeutic applications for drug-resistant cancers, by drugging the novel target p27Kip1. CONCARLO’s therapeutic, IpY, will be used to treat drug-resistant, ER/PR+, Her2- metastatic breast cancer patients. CONCARLO’s ApY, is a companion diagnostic to identify patients non-responsive to cdk4 inhibitory therapies and responsive to IpY. CONCARLO has been awarded highly competitive SBIR funding from the NIH and a contract with the NIH Nanoparticle Characterization Lab. 

Dr. Blain is also an NIH-funded investigator and Associate Professor in Cell Biology and Pediatrics at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center, who has several basic science and translational projects, studying the role of the oncogene cyclin D-cdk4 and p27 in breast cancer. Her lab is currently funded by the NIH and the METAvivor Foundation.

Things You’ll Learn:

• Over 600,000 US citizens will die this year from drug-resistant cancers.
• An inhibitor called p27 can control the drivers of all cancers, CDK4, CDK6, and CDK2, acting as a master regulator of a cell and allowing it to divide or not.
• Concarlo is using p27 to shut off the proliferation of cancer in drug-resistant patients.
• It’s not okay just to have a great team, it’s making sure they work as one cohesive unit.
• 40,000 women are diagnosed in the metastatic setting annually, and about 40,000 die annually.
• Bench scientists are key for any lab and company that produces medications.

• Connect with and follow Stacy Blain on LinkedIn.
• Follow Concarlo Therapeutics on LinkedIn.
• Discover the Concarlo Therapeutics Website.
• Connect with and follow co-host Kerri Anderson on LinkedIn.