CINXE.COM
Helping the world prepare for future pandemics
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head><link rel="stylesheet" data-href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto+Slab%7COpen+Sans%7CRoboto&display=swap" data-optimized-fonts="true"/><title>Helping the world prepare for future pandemics</title><link rel="icon" href="https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/pwa/logo/3a135966-5949-4bdd-8a26-75e825872c5a.png"/><link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/pwa/logo/3a135966-5949-4bdd-8a26-75e825872c5a.png?optimizer=image&format=webp&width=180&aspectRatio=1"/><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/pwa/logo/3a135966-5949-4bdd-8a26-75e825872c5a.png?optimizer=image&format=webp&width=180&aspectRatio=1"/><link rel="canonical" href="/domains/magazine.pharmafile.com/articles/q-a-121669106116"/><meta name="application-name" content="Helping the world prepare for future pandemics"/><meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-capable" content="yes"/><meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-status-bar-style" content="default"/><meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-title" content="Helping the world prepare for future pandemics"/><meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"/><meta name="mobile-web-app-capable" content="yes"/><meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#1976D2"/><meta name="msapplication-tap-highlight" content="no"/><link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.json"/><meta name="twitter:url" content="https://magazine.pharmafile.com"/><meta name="theme-color" content="#1976D2"/><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"/><meta charSet="utf-8"/><meta itemProp="name" content="Helping the world prepare for future pandemics"/><meta name="keywords" content="q a "/><meta itemProp="description" content="Open Orphan Helping the world prepare for future pandemics respiratory diseases, clinical trials, COVID-19 "/><meta name="description" content="Open Orphan Helping the world prepare for future pandemics respiratory diseases, clinical trials, COVID-19 "/><meta itemProp="image" content="https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg"/><meta property="og:description" content="Open Orphan Helping the world prepare for future pandemics respiratory diseases, clinical trials, COVID-19 "/><meta property="og:title" content="Helping the world prepare for future pandemics"/><meta property="og:site_name" content="Helping the world prepare for future pandemics"/><meta property="og:image" content="https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg"/><meta property="og:type" content="website"/><meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"/><meta name="twitter:title" content="Helping the world prepare for future pandemics"/><meta name="twitter:description" content="Open Orphan Helping the world prepare for future pandemics respiratory diseases, clinical trials, COVID-19 "/><meta name="twitter:image" content="https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg"/><meta name="author" content="Pharmafile"/><meta property="article:author" content="Pharmafile"/><meta property="article:published_time" content="2022-05-31T00:00:00.000Z"/><meta name="twitter:site" content="@pharmafocus"/><meta name="twitter:creator" content="@pharmafocus"/><style>html{--heading-font: "Roboto Slab";--body-font: "Open Sans";--ui-font: "Roboto";--top-menu-title-font: "Roboto Slab";--top-menu-subtitle-font: "Roboto";--top-menu-items-font: "Roboto";--footer-menu-title-font: "Roboto Slab";--footer-menu-items-font: "Roboto";--background-color: #FFFFFF;--background-color-dark: #808080;--primary-color: #1976D2;--primary-color-dark: #0C3B69;--secondary-color: #795FF4;--secondary-color-dark: #250B9F;--accent-color: #D76FD6;--accent-color-dark: #80237F;--info-color: #41638C;--info-color-dark: #213246;--warning-color: #EF9338;--warning-color-dark: #89490B;--success-color: #20AD27;--success-color-dark: #105714;--danger-color: #DF4241;--danger-color-dark: #7B1515;--top-menu-background-color: #FFFFFF;--top-menu-background-color-dark: #808080;--footer-menu-background-color: #000000;--footer-menu-background-color-dark: #000000;--top-menu-heading-title-color: #000000;--top-menu-heading-title-color-dark: #000000;--top-menu-item-text-color: #000000;--top-menu-item-text-color-dark: #000000;--top-menu-item-icon-color: #000000;--top-menu-item-icon-color-dark: #000000;--navbar-height: 64px; }</style><link rel="stylesheet" data-href="https://use.typekit.net/nat8xfl.css" data-optimized-fonts="true"/><script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/cookie-bar/cookiebar-latest.min.js?customize=1&always=1&showNoConsent=1"></script><meta name="google-site-verification" content="1Gr9skOzVfL3FXDYTam8oONdREeoeMCoQWnlojFJHX0"/><style> #billboard-banner { text-align:center;} #billboard-banner img {width:100%; max-width:970px; height:auto; position:relative; top:70px;} </style><meta name="next-head-count" content="43"/><link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com"/><link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com"/><link rel="preload" href="/_next/static/css/229efe2956472d85.css" as="style"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="/_next/static/css/229efe2956472d85.css" data-n-g=""/><link rel="preload" href="/_next/static/css/7c74bf24f71f6c9d.css" as="style"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="/_next/static/css/7c74bf24f71f6c9d.css" data-n-p=""/><link rel="preload" href="/_next/static/css/eaa0062c2481f7ca.css" as="style"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="/_next/static/css/eaa0062c2481f7ca.css" data-n-p=""/><noscript data-n-css=""></noscript><script defer="" nomodule="" src="/_next/static/chunks/polyfills-c67a75d1b6f99dc8.js"></script><script defer="" src="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans&display=swap" data-nscript="beforeInteractive"></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/webpack-b653c683a51d8b57.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/framework-73b8966a3c579ab0.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/main-34cb81d5753e1fc4.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/pages/_app-9cc101b503fd5646.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/ad273671-3092333ffa02af02.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/876-c944523f292a2885.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/223-fe6833f316a5a95f.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/174-d95909d2aa5e8ec8.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/302-d0f1826200f9f2a4.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/chunks/pages/domains/%5Bdomain%5D/articles/%5Bslug%5D-12d0888066c7f18b.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/1bBCYhXOG7wsYuaBifvjK/_buildManifest.js" defer=""></script><script src="/_next/static/1bBCYhXOG7wsYuaBifvjK/_ssgManifest.js" defer=""></script><style data-styled="" data-styled-version="5.3.9"></style><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto+Slab%7COpen+Sans%7CRoboto&display=swap"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://use.typekit.net/nat8xfl.css"/></head><body><div id="__next"><div class="Layout_container__gktH6"><div class="Layout_navbar-container__gCfDZ" style="height:64px"><nav class="_wrapper_jbnbd_1"><div class="_container_jbnbd_15"><div class="_navbar-prefix_jbnbd_108"><div class="Layout_prefix__7W2Vq"><button><div class="_nav-arrow-left_1lm7t_183 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div></button></div></div><a class="_navbar-brand_jbnbd_29" aria-label="Pharmafile" href="/"><div class="_navbar-image_jbnbd_40"><img alt="Logo" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="_image_jbnbd_43" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent" sizes="100vw" srcSet="https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 54w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 70w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 82w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 96w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 110w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 128w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 138w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 192w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 200w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 252w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 260w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 298w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 378w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 384w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 520w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 640w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 756w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 828w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 1080w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 1200w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 1920w, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png 2048w" src="https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png"/></div><div class="_navbar-title_jbnbd_58 _navbar-title-hide_jbnbd_101"><span>Therapeutic areas in focus</span></div></a><div id="navbar-children-container" class="_navbar-children_jbnbd_116"><div class="_menu_1jhrl_1"><div class="_menu-wrapper_1jhrl_22"><div class="_menu-items_1jhrl_38"><a class="_menu-item_1jhrl_38" href="/"><div class="_menu-home_1lm7t_255 _menu-item-icon_1jhrl_97 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div><div class="_menu-item-title_1jhrl_88">Home</div><div class="_indicator_1jhrl_63"></div></a><a class="_menu-item_1jhrl_38 _active_1jhrl_70" href="/articles"><div class="_menu-articles_1lm7t_259 _menu-item-icon_1jhrl_97 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div><div class="_menu-item-title_1jhrl_88">Articles</div><div class="_indicator_1jhrl_63 _active_1jhrl_70"></div></a><a class="_menu-item_1jhrl_38" href="/collections"><div class="_menu-issues_1lm7t_263 _menu-item-icon_1jhrl_97 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div><div class="_menu-item-title_1jhrl_88">Issues</div><div class="_indicator_1jhrl_63"></div></a><a class="_menu-item_1jhrl_38" href="/account/login"><div class="_menu-account_1lm7t_411 _menu-item-icon_1jhrl_97 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div><div class="_menu-item-title_1jhrl_88">Log in</div><div class="_indicator_1jhrl_63"></div></a></div></div></div></div><div id="navbar-suffix" class="_navbar-suffix_jbnbd_108"><div class="Layout_menu-actions__vsDbI"><div class="Layout_install-button__FBfSr"><div class="Tooltip_tooltip__98Sw9"></div><button class="_button_19h3g_1 _text_19h3g_12 _medium_19h3g_38 _secondary_19h3g_22" type="button" style="color:var(--top-menu-item-icon-color, var(--background-color))" role="button" aria-label="Search" aria-labelledby="labeldiv" title="Search"><div class="_action-search_1lm7t_15 _icon-button_19h3g_19 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon" style="background-color:var(--top-menu-item-icon-color, var(--background-color))"></div></button></div></div></div></div></nav></div><div class="Layout_main__evUHx"><div class="Layout_spacer__qTBD3" style="height:64px"></div><div class=""><div class=""></div><div class=""><div id="print-article" class="_slug__article__BPEHu"><div class="Article-module_article__kO4b9"><div id="outer" data-widget="page-widget" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;padding:16px 0px 24px 0px;color:#000000;text-align:left;font-family:"Open Sans"" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Page-module_outer__g0XXH"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%"><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW</p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="heading-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 16px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Heading-module_container__uHf-4"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%"><h2><span class="__bold" style="font-family:"Roboto Slab"">Helping the world prepare for future pandemics</span></h2></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>Pharmafile speaks to <span style="color:rgb(0,169,158)">Open Orphan</span></p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p><span style="color:rgb(38,37,35)"><span class="__bold" style="color:rgb(0, 169, 158)">Yamin ‘Mo’ Khan, CEO of Open Orphan, guides us through the respiratory disease arena, and how the world of human challenge trials may help us to understand it better</span> </span></p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p><span style="color:rgb(38,37,35)"><span class="__bold">Pharmafile: </span><span class="__bold">How has the global respiratory disease market shifted in the last 10 years?</span> </span></p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p><span style="color:rgb(38,37,35)"><span class="__bold">Yamin ‘Mo’ Khan:</span> </span>Prior to COVID-19, I think it had basically mirrored most of the other therapeutic areas, as there had been growth in the field. COVID-19 has had a significant impact; at one point there were over 300 candidates in development to treat the disease. COVID-19 is such an outlier, and it changes the whole paradigm when it comes to respiratory disease, as well as the development of broader vaccines or antivirals.</p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>On the other side, we have a lot of pressure on pricing as well. That’s one of the key factors that people in pharma and biotech are looking at, especially to see how they can speed up the process of drug development, to offer a lower price for marketing authorisation. That’s going to require more work. Everyone can appreciate and understand that the speed of these vaccines that came out against COVID-19 was amazing. People who are not in the industry don’t fully appreciate the speed at which the work was done.</p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>Typically, it takes eight to twelve years to come up with a new product on the market. With COVID-19, the teamwork across the different kinds of groups internationally was amazing. From the discovery of the virus in Wuhan, different academics, sites, and pharma companies like Pfizer and Oxford- AstraZeneca, came together to expedite response to COVID-19. The regulatory bodies were happy to review the data on a rolling basis, which was not very common.</p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>I think that part has been pretty amazing, and hopefully it goes some way towards putting together a blueprint for future epidemics and pandemics. I’m hoping that we will be better prepared next time. I think there was some criticism at the start – a lot of people talked about a potential pandemic and why we weren’t better prepared for this one.</p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p><span style="color:rgb(38,37,35)"><span class="__bold">What potential do human challenge studies have in helping us understand more about respiratory diseases?</span> </span></p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>When you want to run a challenge trial, you find healthy volunteers – usually young, healthy people. We will find around 160,000 unique volunteer leads this year to fill our studies. For our challenge studies, we offer a number of strains of influenza, RSV, coronavirus, malaria, and so on. There’s a long process of checking volunteer eligibility to participate in trials. For example, if you were a volunteer, we would do a serology test. We need to make sure that with an influenza challenge trial, you’ve not been exposed to that strain before, so you wouldn’t have antibodies for that. If you don’t have innate antibodies, you will get infected, but if you don’t get infected, you’re not really that useful to the trial. We do those kinds of screening processes, which means that we lose about 85% of the volunteers because they’re not suitable.</p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>We would first give vaccines to the ones that are most suitable, and then two to four weeks later, we would challenge them with a live virus. Then we measure the signs and symptoms while they quarantine for ten days. These challenge drug trials have been done quite often in the past, but with the current pandemic, it has been brought to a higher <span>level. We are now seeing more and more emphasis on doing challenge trials. WHO, for example, has put forward new working guidelines on how challenge trials should be conducted. There have been discussions at the highest levels in the US, at the FDA, regarding challenge trials. We work with the MHRA here in the UK in getting every challenge trial approved. We also work with some of the key academics – for example, Imperial College London was involved in the COVID-19 trials that we ran. Remember, we know the exact point we inoculate a volunteer, and we know to the second when a patient gets infected.</span></p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p><span style="color:rgb(38,37,35)"><span class="__bold">As CEO of Open Orphan, are there any particular hopes and visions you have for the company in 2022, as well as for the respiratory disease space?</span> </span></p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>There’s no other company that has the breadth of challenge models we have. We have over nine challenge models and have done over 60 challenge studies, so it does put us in a unique situation. We also have a fantastic scientific team, with consultants from CMC through to clinical. With regards to respiratory, on a small scale, we started working on asthma, using HRV as an agent. We’ve developed a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) model, but globally, we want to help the world to be better placed in fighting a future pandemic. We can’t just be doing trials on a day-to-day basis – we need to look at the long term and see what the key risks are for all of us as a global community.</p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>As a company, developing new challenge trials all the time is something we invest in. We ran the first SARS-CoV-2 challenge trial, and the results of that were published in <span class="ld_italic">Nature </span><span class="ld_italic">Medicine </span>in April. We are also working with some key academic leaders as well, to develop this model to make them better and faster. We were able to grow the company with the challenge agents and the new service portfolio, and are helping prepare for any future pandemics.</p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p><span style="color:rgb(38,37,35)"><span class="__bold">What are the main obstacles that arise in human challenge studies?</span> </span></p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>Recruitment: trying to find a sufficient number of healthy volunteers is a huge challenge. We have a large dedicated recruitment arm <span>called FluCamp, which advertises via social media and traditional press to recruit potential volunteers. These people are compensated when they go into quarantine, but I think that’s one of the key challenges. The other challenge is that for Phase I studies in respiratory using healthy volunteers, they require nurses and physicians with specialised skill sets. That’s different to the standard indication. When doing trials with respiratory disease patients, there’s more sampling and specialist procedures required. Doing multi-site trials in respiratory does increase the variability of data across the site. You avoid that in a challenge trial because this tends to be conducted at a single site. You have one site, one group of nurses, and one group of physicians, who do all the patient procedures and sampling. So there is less variability of data.</span></p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="image-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:8px 0px 16px 0px;min-height:auto" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P"><div id="inner" class="Image-module_container__8raIv Image-module_container-noflex__-J1PG" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;min-height:auto"><picture class="Image-module_picture__gw1zY Image-module_loading__FfyPr"><source type="image/jpeg" srcSet="https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg?optimizer=image&width=192 192w,https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg?optimizer=image&width=384 384w,https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg?optimizer=image&width=768 768w,https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg?optimizer=image&width=1536 1536w" sizes="(min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw"/><img src="https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg?optimizer=image&width=768" srcSet="https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg?optimizer=image&width=192 192w,https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg?optimizer=image&width=384 384w,https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg?optimizer=image&width=768 768w,https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg?optimizer=image&width=1536 1536w" sizes="(min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw" class="Image-module_image__w4slc" width="100%" height="755" decoding="async" alt="Image" style="height:auto;width:100%"/></picture></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p><span style="color:rgb(38,37,35)"><span class="__bold">What is the potential of technology in human challenge studies?</span> </span></p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>Technology has changed, and will continue to change the way clinical trials are run. Let’s talk about patient-reported outcomes, when a patient is taking part in a clinical trial. With technology, you know in real time when data is being entered into the electronic diary. This increases the data integrity and the data quality. It also shortens the timelines for analysis, and gives the ability to collect more data. You have to ensure you only collect the data you really need. Technology enables you to get more data than otherwise possible in paper.</p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>At Open Orphan, we run clinical trial challenge studies with wearables as well. We collect data on the patient 24/7. We analyse the correlation between the variable data <span>versus the signs and symptoms the patient is showing. When a patient is at home, you can continue to collect the data. We have more kinds of clinically-targeted wearable devices to collect this.</span></p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p><span style="color:rgb(38,37,35)"><span class="__bold">COVID-19 illuminated the need for safe treatments that manage the inflammatory responses to respiratory infections. What else did the pandemic highlight about respiratory diseases?</span> </span></p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>I think it highlighted the potential for new treatments. The use of high quality placebo trials to test treatments has been key. Even though we expedited the clinical development programmes for the COVID-19 vaccines, they’ve been shown to be safe and effective. Understanding the viral disease helps with regard to what treatments to test, and also deciding to target the underlying cause of disease, in the right population, at the right time, is key. For example, it was shown that dexamethasone is beneficial in more severe patients, but not so much in the mild-to-moderate COVID-19 disease. Identifying infection early on in at-risk groups was also important, of course. It did show that in a lot of cases, in the at-risk patient population, late treatments were frequently unsuccessful. With patients who are elderly or at risk, if they develop severe flu, it’s harder for them to recover.</p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 8px 24px;text-align:left;font-size:100%;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p>At Open Orphan, we are now testing antivirals and immunomodulator treatments, as well as prophylactic drugs. We are currently using viral-induced studies in Africa, and hope to do more studies in COPD. I think those are some of the key findings.</p></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="container-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 24px 0px 24px;min-height:auto" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Container-module_outer__Ae8eB"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%"><div id="outer" data-widget="horizontal-rule-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P HorizontalRule-module_outer__3UqSE"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%"><hr style="border-top-style:solid;border-top-width:6px;border-top-color:#f80202"/></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="columns-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P"><div id="inner" class="Columns-module_inner__KeVpm Columns-module_collapse-phone__abOHb" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%"><div class="Columns-module_column__hw-5a" style="margin:0px 12px;flex:4"><div id="outer" data-widget="column-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Column-module_outer__vEJ6X"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%"><div id="outer" data-widget="image-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:8px 0px 8px 0px;min-height:auto" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P"><div id="inner" class="Image-module_container__8raIv Image-module_container-noflex__-J1PG" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;min-height:auto"><div aria-owns="rmiz-modal-" data-rmiz=""><div data-rmiz-content="not-found" style="visibility:visible"><picture class="Image-module_picture__gw1zY Image-module_loading__FfyPr"><source type="image/jpeg" srcSet="https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-2.jpg?optimizer=image&width=192 192w,https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-2.jpg?optimizer=image&width=384 384w,https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-2.jpg?optimizer=image&width=768 768w,https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-2.jpg?optimizer=image&width=1536 1536w" sizes="(min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw"/><img src="https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-2.jpg?optimizer=image&width=768" srcSet="https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-2.jpg?optimizer=image&width=192 192w,https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-2.jpg?optimizer=image&width=384 384w,https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-2.jpg?optimizer=image&width=768 768w,https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-2.jpg?optimizer=image&width=1536 1536w" sizes="(min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw" class="Image-module_image__w4slc" width="100%" height="818" decoding="async" alt="Image" style="height:auto;width:100%"/></picture></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="Columns-module_column__hw-5a" style="margin:0px 12px;flex:8"><div id="outer" data-widget="column-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Column-module_outer__vEJ6X"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%"><div id="outer" data-widget="paragraph-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:8px 24px 8px 0px;text-align:left;font-size:80%;line-height:1.5;letter-spacing:0" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P Paragraph-module_container__-DJUN"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%;column-count:1"><p><span style="color:rgb(38,37,35)"><span class="__bold">Yamin ‘Mo’ Khan</span> </span>is CEO at Open Orphan with over 25 years of experience in clinical research and the CRO industry. Mo previously worked as a Consultant assisting CROs to develop growth strategies, and also held a variety of senior roles at Pharm-Olam. In his time at Pharm-Olam Mo had leading roles in Clinical Operations, Project Management, Business Development and Executive Management functions.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div id="outer" data-widget="horizontal-rule-widget" style="background-color:transparent;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px" class="Widget-module_outer__PBh8P HorizontalRule-module_outer__3UqSE"><div id="inner" style="border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;width:100%"><hr style="border-top-style:solid;border-top-width:6px;border-top-color:#f80202"/></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="_slug__share-button__ettip"><hr/></div></div></div><div id="ControlBar" class="_slug__control-bar__Jj4LE"><div class="WrapAutoHide-module_navigation__9sdQy WrapAutoHide-module_visible__UN7GD"><div class="ControlBar-module_toc-wrapper__AF5eD"><div class="ControlBar-module_toc__mKXnp"><div class="ControlBar-module_white-blur__TGapK"><div class="ControlBar-module_toc-slider__i9fv1"></div></div><div class="ControlBar-module_control-bar__9Zqak"><button class=""><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none"><path d="M13.8287 19C13.5367 19 13.2467 18.873 13.0487 18.627L8.22066 12.627C7.92266 12.256 7.92666 11.726 8.23166 11.36L13.2317 5.35998C13.5847 4.93598 14.2157 4.87898 14.6407 5.23198C15.0647 5.58498 15.1217 6.21598 14.7677 6.63998L10.2927 12.011L14.6077 17.373C14.9537 17.803 14.8857 18.433 14.4547 18.779C14.2707 18.928 14.0487 19 13.8287 19Z" fill="white"></path></svg></button><button class=""><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="18" height="14" viewBox="0 0 18 14" fill="none"><path d="M6.75 0H1.125C0.503719 0 0 0.503719 0 1.125V4.5C0 5.12128 0.503719 5.625 1.125 5.625C1.74628 5.625 2.25 5.12128 2.25 4.5V2.25H6.75C7.37128 2.25 7.875 1.74628 7.875 1.125C7.875 0.503719 7.37128 0 6.75 0Z" fill="white"></path><path d="M16.875 0H11.25C10.6287 0 10.125 0.503719 10.125 1.125C10.125 1.74628 10.6287 2.25 11.25 2.25H15.75V4.5C15.75 5.12128 16.2537 5.625 16.875 5.625C17.4963 5.625 18 5.12128 18 4.5V1.125C18 0.503719 17.4963 0 16.875 0Z" fill="white"></path><path d="M16.875 7.875C16.2537 7.875 15.75 8.37872 15.75 9V11.25H11.25C10.6287 11.25 10.125 11.7537 10.125 12.375C10.125 12.9963 10.6287 13.5 11.25 13.5H16.875C17.4963 13.5 18 12.9963 18 12.375V9C18 8.37872 17.4963 7.875 16.875 7.875Z" fill="white"></path><path d="M6.75 11.25H2.25V9C2.25 8.37872 1.74628 7.875 1.125 7.875C0.503719 7.875 0 8.37872 0 9V12.375C0 12.9963 0.503719 13.5 1.125 13.5H6.75C7.37128 13.5 7.875 12.9963 7.875 12.375C7.875 11.7537 7.37128 11.25 6.75 11.25Z" fill="white"></path></svg></button><button class="" disabled=""><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none"><g opacity="0.25"><path d="M9.9995 19C9.7735 19 9.5465 18.924 9.3595 18.768C8.9355 18.415 8.8785 17.784 9.2315 17.36L13.7075 11.989L9.3925 6.62701C9.0465 6.19701 9.1145 5.56701 9.5445 5.22101C9.9755 4.87501 10.6045 4.94301 10.9515 5.37301L15.7795 11.373C16.0775 11.744 16.0735 12.274 15.7685 12.64L10.7685 18.64C10.5705 18.877 10.2865 19 9.9995 19Z" fill="white"></path></g></svg></button></div></div></div></div></div><div class="_slug__wrapper__0ZIJf"></div><div></div></div></div><script> //create a new element const terms = document.createElement('div'); //set id terms.setAttribute("id","billboard-banner"); //add the new element to html var body = document.querySelector('body'); body.appendChild(terms); document.querySelector("#billboard-banner").innerHTML = "<ins data-revive-zoneid='1569' data-revive-id='9c421b7e485bf2edfee09708a4d06e2e'></ins>"; //insert new element before header //document.body.insertAdjacentElement('afterbegin', terms); const insElement = document.querySelector("#__next"); insElement.before(terms); </script> <script async="" src="//ads.datateam.co.uk/www/delivery/asyncjs.php"></script><div class="_footer_j8nu5_1"><div class="_container_j8nu5_12"><div class="_footer-row_j8nu5_23"><div class="_footer-column_j8nu5_36 _flex-2_j8nu5_117"><div class="_footer-brand_j8nu5_43"><div class=""><img alt="Logo" loading="lazy" width="40" height="40" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="_footer-logo_j8nu5_57" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/footer-menu-icon/b422c56e-036d-422f-96b0-a6c3d151026b.png 1x, https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/footer-menu-icon/b422c56e-036d-422f-96b0-a6c3d151026b.png 2x" src="https://media.magloft.app/pwa-663/pwa/footer-menu-icon/b422c56e-036d-422f-96b0-a6c3d151026b.png"/></div><div class="_content_j8nu5_67"><h3>Pharmafile</h3><p>Therapeutic areas in focus</p></div></div><div class="_footer-link-list_j8nu5_121"><div class="_block_j8nu5_129"><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" rel="noreferrer" href="mailto:info@samedanltd.com"><div class="_form-email_1lm7t_143 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div><span>info@samedanltd.com</span></a></div><div class="_block_j8nu5_129"><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://pwa.magloft.com/"><div class="_status-info_1lm7t_87 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div><span>www.samedanltd.com</span></a></div><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" href="http://www.samedanltd.com/page/13"><div class="_status-info_1lm7t_87 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div><span>Privacy Policy</span></a><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" href="http://www.samedanltd.com/page/13"><div class="_status-info_1lm7t_87 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div><span>Terms of Service</span></a></div></div><div class="_footer-column_j8nu5_36 _flex-1_j8nu5_39"><div class="_footer-brand_j8nu5_43"><div class="_status-accent_1lm7t_91 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div><div class="_content_j8nu5_67"><h3>Categories</h3><p>Explore our inspiring content by topic</p></div></div><div class="_footer-link-list_j8nu5_121"><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" href="/categories/infectious-diseases"><div class="_nav-arrow-right_1lm7t_175 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div>Infectious Diseases</a><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" href="/categories/rare-diseases"><div class="_nav-arrow-right_1lm7t_175 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div>Rare Diseases</a><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" href="/categories/dermatology"><div class="_nav-arrow-right_1lm7t_175 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div>Dermatology</a><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" href="/categories/oncology"><div class="_nav-arrow-right_1lm7t_175 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div>Oncology</a><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" href="/categories/respiratory"><div class="_nav-arrow-right_1lm7t_175 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div>Respiratory</a><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" href="/categories/pain"><div class="_nav-arrow-right_1lm7t_175 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div>Pain</a><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" href="/categories/neurology"><div class="_nav-arrow-right_1lm7t_175 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div>Neurology</a><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" href="/categories/cardiovascular"><div class="_nav-arrow-right_1lm7t_175 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div>Cardiovascular</a><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" href="/categories/womens-health"><div class="_nav-arrow-right_1lm7t_175 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div>Women's Health</a><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" href="/categories/news"><div class="_nav-arrow-right_1lm7t_175 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div>News</a></div></div><div class="_footer-column_j8nu5_36 _flex-1_j8nu5_39"><div class="_footer-brand_j8nu5_43"><div class="_share-action_1lm7t_463 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div><div class="_content_j8nu5_67"><h3>Social Footprints</h3><p>Follow us on our Social Media Channels</p></div></div><div class="_footer-link-list_j8nu5_121"><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://twitter.com/pharmafocus"><div class="_share-twitter_1lm7t_487 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div><span class="_footer-text_j8nu5_125">X</span></a><a class="_footer-link-item_j8nu5_92" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/samedan-ltd/"><div class="_share-linkedin_1lm7t_483 _footer-icon_j8nu5_58 _icon_1lm7t_1 icon"></div><span class="_footer-text_j8nu5_125">linkedin</span></a></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="Toastify"></div></div><script id="__NEXT_DATA__" type="application/json">{"props":{"pageProps":{"domain":"magazine.pharmafile.com","pwa":{"id":663,"publicationId":14881,"pwaOptinId":655,"domain":"magazine.pharmafile.com","config":{"access":{"concurrentLimit":null,"restrictAnonymous":null,"disableSignup":null,"disableLogin":null,"disableLoginMessage":null,"disableSearchIndexing":false,"signupUrl":null,"resetPasswordUrl":null,"isUsernameLogin":null,"disableEditProfile":null,"formUrl":null,"customMarginResetPassword":null},"push":{"google":{"serverPublicKey":"BM0A-3PI9oRiVvVNuci8EbmGIC655KFzdqh9tQxnt5n6T-oECeS2hReTgrjYtIeeK0wsWfMB6VixaHT_RxZ15J0"}},"tracking":{"facebook":{"appId":null,"pixelId":null},"google":{"measurementId":"G-L1MVP1ECDJ"},"gtm":null,"sentry":true},"payment":{"stripe":null,"bypassPayment":null,"mode":"none","external":null,"currency":null},"email":{"readerOptin":false},"firebase":null,"customHtml":{"head":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://use.typekit.net/nat8xfl.css\"\u003e\n\u003cscript type=\"text/javascript\" src=\"https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/cookie-bar/cookiebar-latest.min.js?customize=1\u0026always=1\u0026showNoConsent=1\" onload=\"setupCookieBar();\"\u003e\u003c/script\u003e\n\u003c!-- Google Search console Verification --\u003e\n\u003cmeta name=\"google-site-verification\" content=\"1Gr9skOzVfL3FXDYTam8oONdREeoeMCoQWnlojFJHX0\" /\u003e\n\u003cstyle\u003e\n#billboard-banner { text-align:center;}\n#billboard-banner img {width:100%; max-width:970px; height:auto; position:relative; top:70px;}\n\u003c/style\u003e","body":"\u003cscript\u003e\n //create a new element\n const terms = document.createElement('div');\n //set id\n terms.setAttribute(\"id\",\"billboard-banner\");\n //add the new element to html\n var body = document.querySelector('body');\n body.appendChild(terms);\n document.querySelector(\"#billboard-banner\").innerHTML = \"\u003cins data-revive-zoneid='1569' data-revive-id='9c421b7e485bf2edfee09708a4d06e2e'\u003e\u003c/ins\u003e\"; \n //insert new element before header\n//document.body.insertAdjacentElement('afterbegin', terms);\n const insElement = document.querySelector(\"#__next\");\n insElement.before(terms);\n\u003c/script\u003e\n\u003cscript async src=\"//ads.datateam.co.uk/www/delivery/asyncjs.php\"\u003e\u003c/script\u003e"},"account":{"emailEditable":true,"customSubscriptionText":null,"customSubscriptionURL":null,"enableSubscriptionTitle":null},"checkout":null},"design":{"colors":{"backgroundColor":"#FFFFFF","primaryColor":"#1976D2","secondaryColor":"#795FF4","accentColor":"#D76FD6","infoColor":"#41638C","warningColor":"#EF9338","successColor":"#20AD27","dangerColor":"#DF4241","topMenuBackgroundColor":"#FFFFFF","topMenuHeadingTitleColor":"#000000","topMenuHeadingIconColor":null,"topMenuItemTextColor":"#000000","topMenuItemIconColor":"#000000","footerMenuBackgroundColor":"#000000","footerMenuHeadingTitleColor":null,"footerMenuHeadingTextColor":null,"footerMenuHeadingIconColor":null,"footerMenuItemTextColor":null,"footerMenuItemIconColor":null},"images":{"icon":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/pwa/logo/3a135966-5949-4bdd-8a26-75e825872c5a.png","feature":"https://cdn.magloft.com/defaults/feature-graphic.jpg","topMenuIcon":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/pwa/top-menu-icon/5c5d21c9-69bd-4c66-93dd-f0f8bb598a70.png","footerMenuIcon":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/pwa/footer-menu-icon/b422c56e-036d-422f-96b0-a6c3d151026b.png","alphaChannelIcon":null},"fonts":{"heading":"roboto-slab","body":"open-sans","ui":"roboto","topMenuTitle":"roboto-slab","topMenuItems":null,"topMenuSubtitle":null,"footerMenuTitle":"roboto-slab","footerMenuItems":null},"menuItems":{"collections":{"title":"Issues"},"articles":{"title":null},"account":{"title":null},"icons":{"enabled":true}},"footerShape":"flat","issueCoverAspectRatio":0.75,"fullscreenCollectionView":"auto","customOverlayToggleView":false,"defaultViewMode":"html","categories":"flat","purchaseList":true,"libraryList":false,"noteList":false,"textToSpeech":false},"layout":{"banners":[{"image":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/pwa/banner/994f2837-a9d2-437b-92bc-e0b130e07bf6.png","title":"Pharmafile Magazine","isHidden":true,"action":{"type":"url","href":"https://www.pharmafile.com/","target":"_blank","pwaSubscriptionId":null,"pwaSubscription":null,"optinId":null,"optin":null}}],"bottomBanners":[{"image":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/pwa/banner/f3f87ce8-ef8e-4547-b63f-f4805a25e350.png","title":"Samedan","isHidden":false,"action":{"type":"url","href":"http://www.samedanltd.com/","target":"_blank","pwaSubscriptionId":null,"pwaSubscription":null,"optinId":null,"optin":null}}],"columnSeparator":"shadow","tabs":[{"route":"","title":"Home","icon":"menu-home","visible":true},{"route":"/articles","title":"Articles","icon":"menu-articles","visible":true},{"route":"/collections","title":"Collections","icon":"menu-issues","visible":true},{"route":"/account","title":"Account","icon":"menu-account","visible":true}],"topMenu":{"showLogo":true,"showSubtitle":true,"showTitle":false,"height":"64px"},"navbar":{"animation":false,"style":"logo-left"},"sections":[{"fullWidth":true,"backgroundColor":"transparent","columnSeparator":"none","columns":[{"size":5,"blocks":[{"type":"banner","image":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/pwa/banner/994f2837-a9d2-437b-92bc-e0b130e07bf6.png","isHidden":true,"title":"Pharmafile Magazine","action":{"type":"url","href":"https://www.pharmafile.com/","target":"_blank","pwaSubscriptionId":null,"pwaSubscription":null,"optinId":null,"optin":null}}]}]},{"fullWidth":false,"backgroundColor":null,"columnSeparator":"shadow","columns":[{"size":8.5,"blocks":[{"type":"issue-slider","condition":null,"color":"#F50D0D","title":"Latest Issues","issueIds":[51652,50092,47546,47328],"thumbnail":{"style":"overlay","size":"tall"},"borderRadius":null,"zoomOnHover":true,"issues":null},{"type":"article-list","condition":null,"color":"#000000","title":"Trending","variant":"variant-b","articleIds":[258239,258236,258240,258242,258238,258237],"articles":null},{"type":"article-category","condition":null,"color":"#F50D0D","title":"Rare Diseases","variant":"variant-b","categoryId":42211,"backgroundColor":null,"image":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/category/image/62a51415-ed19-4d78-8601-68087122c29b.jpg","articles":null,"category":null},{"type":"article-category","condition":null,"color":"#E2001A","title":"Infectious Diseases","variant":"variant-a","categoryId":42331,"backgroundColor":null,"image":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/category/image/253ea686-a135-4a29-b1a2-f8a0b400a4f5.jpg","articles":null,"category":null},{"type":"article-category","condition":null,"color":"#E2001A","title":"Dermatology","variant":"variant-a","categoryId":42212,"backgroundColor":null,"image":null,"articles":null,"category":null},{"type":"article-list","condition":null,"color":"#195AA6","title":"Pain","variant":"variant-a","articleIds":[183367,183366,183365],"articles":null}]},{"size":3.5,"blocks":[{"type":"cta","condition":null,"icon":"symbol-bell","color":"#195AA6","title":"Pharmafile Archive","description":"Browse older editions","action":{"type":"url","href":"https://en.calameo.com/subscriptions/6188509","target":"_blank","pwaSubscriptionId":null,"pwaSubscription":null,"optinId":null,"optin":null}},{"type":"ad","title":"Advertisement","advertisementIds":[1974],"adCampaignId":null,"condition":null},{"type":"cta","condition":null,"icon":"symbol-bell","color":"#195AA6","title":"Sign up to our Newsletters","description":"Sign up to our newsletters and digital magazines","action":{"type":"url","href":"https://curwoodcmsltd.formstack.com/forms/samedan","target":"_blank","pwaSubscriptionId":null,"pwaSubscription":null,"optinId":null,"optin":null}},{"type":"guide-install","color":"#195AA6","title":"How to Install","condition":null},{"type":"ad","title":"Advertisement","advertisementIds":[2235],"adCampaignId":null,"condition":null}]}]},{"fullWidth":true,"backgroundColor":"transparent","columnSeparator":"none","columns":[{"size":5,"blocks":[{"type":"banner","image":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/pwa/banner/f3f87ce8-ef8e-4547-b63f-f4805a25e350.png","isHidden":false,"title":"Samedan","action":{"type":"url","href":"http://www.samedanltd.com/","target":"_blank","pwaSubscriptionId":null,"pwaSubscription":null,"optinId":null,"optin":null}}]}]}],"columns":[{"size":8.5,"blocks":[{"type":"issue-slider","condition":null,"color":"#F50D0D","title":"Latest Issues","issueIds":[51652,50092,47546,47328],"thumbnail":{"style":"overlay","size":"tall"},"borderRadius":null,"zoomOnHover":true,"issues":null},{"type":"article-list","condition":null,"color":"#000000","title":"Trending","variant":"variant-b","articleIds":[258239,258236,258240,258242,258238,258237],"articles":null},{"type":"article-category","condition":null,"color":"#F50D0D","title":"Rare Diseases","variant":"variant-b","categoryId":42211,"backgroundColor":null,"image":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/category/image/62a51415-ed19-4d78-8601-68087122c29b.jpg","articles":null,"category":null},{"type":"article-category","condition":null,"color":"#E2001A","title":"Infectious Diseases","variant":"variant-a","categoryId":42331,"backgroundColor":null,"image":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/category/image/253ea686-a135-4a29-b1a2-f8a0b400a4f5.jpg","articles":null,"category":null},{"type":"article-category","condition":null,"color":"#E2001A","title":"Dermatology","variant":"variant-a","categoryId":42212,"backgroundColor":null,"image":null,"articles":null,"category":null},{"type":"article-list","condition":null,"color":"#195AA6","title":"Pain","variant":"variant-a","articleIds":[183367,183366,183365],"articles":null}]},{"size":3.5,"blocks":[{"type":"cta","condition":null,"icon":"symbol-bell","color":"#195AA6","title":"Pharmafile Archive","description":"Browse older editions","action":{"type":"url","href":"https://en.calameo.com/subscriptions/6188509","target":"_blank","pwaSubscriptionId":null,"pwaSubscription":null,"optinId":null,"optin":null}},{"type":"ad","title":"Advertisement","advertisementIds":[1974],"adCampaignId":null,"condition":null},{"type":"cta","condition":null,"icon":"symbol-bell","color":"#195AA6","title":"Sign up to our Newsletters","description":"Sign up to our newsletters and digital magazines","action":{"type":"url","href":"https://curwoodcmsltd.formstack.com/forms/samedan","target":"_blank","pwaSubscriptionId":null,"pwaSubscription":null,"optinId":null,"optin":null}},{"type":"guide-install","color":"#195AA6","title":"How to Install","condition":null},{"type":"ad","title":"Advertisement","advertisementIds":[2235],"adCampaignId":null,"condition":null}]}]},"seo":{"home":{"title":"Pharmafile - Therapeutic Areas in focus","description":"Pharma and healthcare legal \u0026 regulatory requirements, financial trends, research, tech, innovation, market insights, analysis, case studies and more","image":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/seo/image/9a7a0d77-c45b-4ca4-8317-060aec365417.png","imageAlt":"Pharmafile magazine covers"},"articles":{"title":"Pharmafile Articles","description":"In depth articles covering AI Drug Discovery, Biomarkers, Drug Development, Clinical Trials, Personalised Medicine, Gene Editing, Biosimilars, Market Access, Real World Data, Wearables/ Interventional Devices and Patient Experience","image":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/seo/image/a32f5169-eb7c-4073-9c9c-517e7c19e85d.png","imageAlt":"Pharmafile - Articles"},"issues":{"title":"Editions of Pharmafile","description":"Pharmafile includes in depth analysis of therapy areas including: Oncology, Pain Management, Respiratory Diseases, Rare Diseases, Cardiovascular \u0026 Metabolic, Neurological Disorders","image":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/seo/image/48839896-f6a6-4404-8744-5e2ef6e70111.png","imageAlt":"Pharmafile - Issues"},"account":{"title":"Pharmafile - Account","description":"Manage your Pharmafile Reader Account...","image":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pwa-663/seo/image/898ff4a9-6db8-47f0-b26b-e2774d221dc2.png","imageAlt":"Reader Account"}},"strings":{"app":{"title":"Pharmafile","subtitle":"Therapeutic areas in focus"},"social":{"facebook":null,"twitter":"https://twitter.com/pharmafocus","linkedin":"https://www.linkedin.com/company/samedan-ltd/","youtube":null,"instagram":null},"topMenu":{"title":null,"subtitle":"Therapeutic areas in focus"},"footerMenu":{"title":"Pharmafile","subtitle":null,"description":null,"email":["info@samedanltd.com"],"privacyUrl":"http://www.samedanltd.com/page/13","termsUrl":"http://www.samedanltd.com/page/13","links":[{"name":"www.samedanltd.com","url":"https://pwa.magloft.com/"}]},"pages":null},"customFonts":[],"phrases":{},"trialEndAt":null,"bypassSubscription":false},"publication":{"id":14881,"title":"Pharmafile","properties":{"subtitle":null,"appIcon":"images/defaults/app-icon.png","promotionalText":null,"companyName":null,"emailReplyTo":"","privacyUrl":null,"termsUrl":null}},"categories":[{"id":42210,"slug":"infectious-diseases","title":"Infectious Diseases","color":"#444444","issueCount":0,"articleCount":4,"categoryGroupIds":[]},{"id":42211,"slug":"rare-diseases","title":"Rare Diseases","color":"#444444","issueCount":0,"articleCount":16,"categoryGroupIds":[]},{"id":42212,"slug":"dermatology","title":"Dermatology","color":"#444444","issueCount":0,"articleCount":6,"categoryGroupIds":[]},{"id":42331,"slug":"oncology","title":"Oncology","color":"#444444","issueCount":0,"articleCount":11,"categoryGroupIds":[]},{"id":42332,"slug":"respiratory","title":"Respiratory","color":"#444444","issueCount":0,"articleCount":4,"categoryGroupIds":[]},{"id":42333,"slug":"pain","title":"Pain","color":"#444444","issueCount":0,"articleCount":3,"categoryGroupIds":[]},{"id":42334,"slug":"neurology","title":"Neurology","color":"#444444","issueCount":0,"articleCount":6,"categoryGroupIds":[]},{"id":42335,"slug":"cardiovascular","title":"Cardiovascular","color":"#444444","issueCount":0,"articleCount":5,"categoryGroupIds":[]},{"id":48101,"slug":"womens-health","title":"Women's Health","color":"#444444","issueCount":0,"articleCount":4,"categoryGroupIds":[]},{"id":42404,"slug":"news","title":"News","color":"#444444","issueCount":0,"articleCount":31,"categoryGroupIds":[]}],"pwaSubscriptions":[],"categoryGroups":[],"slug":"q-a-121669106116","article":{"id":183357,"slug":"q-a-121669106116","issueId":47328,"categoryIds":[42332],"title":"Helping the world prepare for future pandemics","description":"Pharmafile speaks to Open Orphan: Open Orphan tells Pharmafile about the respiratory disease landscape, as well as how human challenge trials may further understanding of the area\n","image":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg","cover":"https://cdn.magloft.com/publication-14881/screenshots/articles/183357.jpg?ts=1669750781","date":1654038000000,"unlockType":"free","categories":[],"pdfPageId":"5kMZrfqx1Uvt","visible":true,"showOnToc":true,"bookmark":false,"position":13,"publicationId":14881,"pwaOptinId":null,"seoDescription":"Open Orphan Helping the world prepare for future pandemics respiratory diseases, clinical trials, COVID-19\n","classificationIds":[],"pwaSubscriptionIds":[],"source":"typeloft2","trending":false,"html":"\u003cpage-widget padding=\"16 0 24 0\"\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003eEXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cheading-widget padding=\"0 24 16 24\" type=\"h2\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"__bold\" style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;Roboto Slab\u0026quot;;\"\u003eHelping the world prepare for future pandemics\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/heading-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003ePharmafile speaks to \u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0,169,158)\"\u003eOpen Orphan\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(38,37,35)\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"__bold\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 169, 158);\"\u003eYamin ‘Mo’ Khan, CEO of Open Orphan, guides us through the respiratory disease arena, and how the world of human challenge trials may help us to understand it better\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(38,37,35)\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"__bold\"\u003ePharmafile: \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"__bold\"\u003eHow has the global respiratory disease market shifted in the last 10 years?\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(38,37,35)\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"__bold\"\u003eYamin ‘Mo’ Khan:\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/span\u003ePrior to COVID-19, I think it had basically mirrored most of the other therapeutic areas, as there had been growth in the field. COVID-19 has had a significant impact; at one point there were over 300 candidates in development to treat the disease. COVID-19 is such an outlier, and it changes the whole paradigm when it comes to respiratory disease, as well as the development of broader vaccines or antivirals.\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003eOn the other side, we have a lot of pressure on pricing as well. That’s one of the key factors that people in pharma and biotech are looking at, especially to see how they can speed up the process of drug development, to offer a lower price for marketing authorisation. That’s going to require more work. Everyone can appreciate and understand that the speed of these vaccines that came out against COVID-19 was amazing. People who are not in the industry don’t fully appreciate the speed at which the work was done.\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003eTypically, it takes eight to twelve years to come up with a new product on the market. With COVID-19, the teamwork across the different kinds of groups internationally was amazing. From the discovery of the virus in Wuhan, different academics, sites, and pharma companies like Pfizer and Oxford- AstraZeneca, came together to expedite response to COVID-19. The regulatory bodies were happy to review the data on a rolling basis, which was not very common.\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003eI think that part has been pretty amazing, and hopefully it goes some way towards putting together a blueprint for future epidemics and pandemics. I’m hoping that we will be better prepared next time. I think there was some criticism at the start – a lot of people talked about a potential pandemic and why we weren’t better prepared for this one.\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(38,37,35)\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"__bold\"\u003eWhat potential do human challenge studies have in helping us understand more about respiratory diseases?\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003eWhen you want to run a challenge trial, you find healthy volunteers – usually young, healthy people. We will find around 160,000 unique volunteer leads this year to fill our studies. For our challenge studies, we offer a number of strains of influenza, RSV, coronavirus, malaria, and so on. There’s a long process of checking volunteer eligibility to participate in trials. For example, if you were a volunteer, we would do a serology test. We need to make sure that with an influenza challenge trial, you’ve not been exposed to that strain before, so you wouldn’t have antibodies for that. If you don’t have innate antibodies, you will get infected, but if you don’t get infected, you’re not really that useful to the trial. We do those kinds of screening processes, which means that we lose about 85% of the volunteers because they’re not suitable.\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003eWe would first give vaccines to the ones that are most suitable, and then two to four weeks later, we would challenge them with a live virus. Then we measure the signs and symptoms while they quarantine for ten days. These challenge drug trials have been done quite often in the past, but with the current pandemic, it has been brought to a higher \u003cspan\u003elevel. We are now seeing more and more emphasis on doing challenge trials. WHO, for example, has put forward new working guidelines on how challenge trials should be conducted. There have been discussions at the highest levels in the US, at the FDA, regarding challenge trials. We work with the MHRA here in the UK in getting every challenge trial approved. We also work with some of the key academics – for example, Imperial College London was involved in the COVID-19 trials that we ran. Remember, we know the exact point we inoculate a volunteer, and we know to the second when a patient gets infected.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(38,37,35)\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"__bold\"\u003eAs CEO of Open Orphan, are there any particular hopes and visions you have for the company in 2022, as well as for the respiratory disease space?\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003eThere’s no other company that has the breadth of challenge models we have. We have over nine challenge models and have done over 60 challenge studies, so it does put us in a unique situation. We also have a fantastic scientific team, with consultants from CMC through to clinical. With regards to respiratory, on a small scale, we started working on asthma, using HRV as an agent. We’ve developed a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) model, but globally, we want to help the world to be better placed in fighting a future pandemic. We can’t just be doing trials on a day-to-day basis – we need to look at the long term and see what the key risks are for all of us as a global community.\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003eAs a company, developing new challenge trials all the time is something we invest in. We ran the first SARS-CoV-2 challenge trial, and the results of that were published in \u003cspan class=\"ld_italic\"\u003eNature \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ld_italic\"\u003eMedicine \u003c/span\u003ein April. We are also working with some key academic leaders as well, to develop this model to make them better and faster. We were able to grow the company with the challenge agents and the new service portfolio, and are helping prepare for any future pandemics.\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(38,37,35)\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"__bold\"\u003eWhat are the main obstacles that arise in human challenge studies?\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003eRecruitment: trying to find a sufficient number of healthy volunteers is a huge challenge. We have a large dedicated recruitment arm \u003cspan\u003ecalled FluCamp, which advertises via social media and traditional press to recruit potential volunteers. These people are compensated when they go into quarantine, but I think that’s one of the key challenges. The other challenge is that for Phase I studies in respiratory using healthy volunteers, they require nurses and physicians with specialised skill sets. That’s different to the standard indication. When doing trials with respiratory disease patients, there’s more sampling and specialist procedures required. Doing multi-site trials in respiratory does increase the variability of data across the site. You avoid that in a challenge trial because this tends to be conducted at a single site. You have one site, one group of nurses, and one group of physicians, who do all the patient procedures and sampling. So there is less variability of data.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cimage-widget padding=\"8 0 16 0\" aspect-ratio=\"0.9835082458770614\" magnify-label=\"center\" source=\"https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg#image/jpeg\"\u003e\u003c/image-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(38,37,35)\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"__bold\"\u003eWhat is the potential of technology in human challenge studies?\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003eTechnology has changed, and will continue to change the way clinical trials are run. Let’s talk about patient-reported outcomes, when a patient is taking part in a clinical trial. With technology, you know in real time when data is being entered into the electronic diary. This increases the data integrity and the data quality. It also shortens the timelines for analysis, and gives the ability to collect more data. You have to ensure you only collect the data you really need. Technology enables you to get more data than otherwise possible in paper.\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003eAt Open Orphan, we run clinical trial challenge studies with wearables as well. We collect data on the patient 24/7. We analyse the correlation between the variable data \u003cspan\u003eversus the signs and symptoms the patient is showing. When a patient is at home, you can continue to collect the data. We have more kinds of clinically-targeted wearable devices to collect this.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(38,37,35)\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"__bold\"\u003eCOVID-19 illuminated the need for safe treatments that manage the inflammatory responses to respiratory infections. What else did the pandemic highlight about respiratory diseases?\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003eI think it highlighted the potential for new treatments. The use of high quality placebo trials to test treatments has been key. Even though we expedited the clinical development programmes for the COVID-19 vaccines, they’ve been shown to be safe and effective. Understanding the viral disease helps with regard to what treatments to test, and also deciding to target the underlying cause of disease, in the right population, at the right time, is key. For example, it was shown that dexamethasone is beneficial in more severe patients, but not so much in the mild-to-moderate COVID-19 disease. Identifying infection early on in at-risk groups was also important, of course. It did show that in a lot of cases, in the at-risk patient population, late treatments were frequently unsuccessful. With patients who are elderly or at risk, if they develop severe flu, it’s harder for them to recover.\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"0 24 8 24\"\u003eAt Open Orphan, we are now testing antivirals and immunomodulator treatments, as well as prophylactic drugs. We are currently using viral-induced studies in Africa, and hope to do more studies in COPD. I think those are some of the key findings.\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003ccontainer-widget padding=\"0 24 0 24\"\u003e\u003chorizontal-rule-widget color=\"#f80202\" width=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/horizontal-rule-widget\u003e\u003ccolumns-widget collapse=\"phone\" gutter=\"24\" layout=\"4 8\"\u003e\u003ccolumn-widget\u003e\u003cimage-widget padding=\"8 0 8 0\" aspect-ratio=\"1.064516129032258\" magnify magnify-label=\"Yamin ‘Mo’ Khan\" source=\"https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-2.jpg#image/jpeg\"\u003e\u003c/image-widget\u003e\u003c/column-widget\u003e\u003ccolumn-widget\u003e\u003cparagraph-widget padding=\"8 24 8 0\" line-height=\"1.5\" font-size=\"80\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(38,37,35)\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"__bold\"\u003eYamin ‘Mo’ Khan\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/span\u003eis CEO at Open Orphan with over 25 years of experience in clinical research and the CRO industry. Mo previously worked as a Consultant assisting CROs to develop growth strategies, and also held a variety of senior roles at Pharm-Olam. In his time at Pharm-Olam Mo had leading roles in Clinical Operations, Project Management, Business Development and Executive Management functions.\u003c/paragraph-widget\u003e\u003c/column-widget\u003e\u003c/columns-widget\u003e\u003chorizontal-rule-widget color=\"#f80202\" width=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/horizontal-rule-widget\u003e\u003c/container-widget\u003e\u003c/page-widget\u003e","keywordPhrase":"q a ","articleAssets":[{"url":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-1.jpg","extension":"jpeg","contentType":"image/jpeg"},{"url":"https://cdn.magloft.com/reader/fonts/roboto-slab.css","extension":"css","contentType":"text/css"},{"url":"https://cdn.magloft.com/reader/fonts/open-sans.css","extension":"css","contentType":"text/css"},{"url":"https://cdn.magloft.com/pdf-import/629/images/img_21-2.jpg","extension":"jpeg","contentType":"image/jpeg"}]},"publicationId":14881},"__N_SSG":true},"page":"/domains/[domain]/articles/[slug]","query":{"domain":"magazine.pharmafile.com","slug":"q-a-121669106116"},"buildId":"1bBCYhXOG7wsYuaBifvjK","isFallback":false,"gsp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}</script></body></html>