Ep. 6: Gunnar Esiason on Cystic Fibrosis, Fundraising, and Clinical Trials
In this episode, VibeCast host Ray Dogum speaks with Gunnar Esiason, MBA MPH. Gunnar is currently a principal at Florence Healthcare. He shares his experience as a Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patient/advocate, fundraising with his father Boomer Esiason at the Boomer Esiason Foundation, and the current state of CF Clinical Trials. Gunnar's Socials: https://twitter.com/G17Esiason www.instagram.com/esiason17g Website: www.GunnarEsiason.com 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:25 - About Gunnar's Experience with Cystic Fibrosis 00:08:01 - Public Visibility of CF Advocacy 00:11:36 - Cystic Fibrosis Fundraising 00:14:01 - Patient Connection to Sponsors in Clinical Trials 00:14:44 - Running Out of Options 00:16:14 - Participating in a Clinical Trial 00:19 :28 - Trikafta and Rare Mutations 00:22:34 - Renewed Prescription to Life 00:26:34 - Improving the Consent Process 00:29:36 - Development of Cystic Fibrosis Treatments 00:32:49 - Trikafta Baby Boom and IVF Grants 00:35:17 - Cystic Fibrosis Drug Pipeline 00:37:20 - Battle Against Rare Disease Medications 00:44:58 - Market Price of Trikafta 00:45:19 - Social Contract Between Biotech and Insurance Industry 00:46:10 - Concerns About Antibacterial Resistance 00:50:14 - Future Goals and Plans for Advocacy Work 00:51:29 - Final Thoughts VibeCast is a collection of long-form and short-form video content intended to help our community learn about the current opportunities and challenges in biotech fundraising and community engagement innovation. Guests include biotech founders,investors, regulatory experts, drug development executives, blockchain technologists, web3 community builders, patient community advocates, and many other Vibe Bio community members seeking to accelerate the development of breakthrough treatments. Disclaimer: VibeCast is intended to be used for educational and entertainment purposes, and no information or opinions shared constitute advice or services. While guests are invited to listen, listeners acknowledge they are not being provided professional advice from the podcast or the guests. The podcast is for private non-commercial use and guests do not necessarily reflect any agency, organization, or company that they work for.
