Base to Base biotech podcast 2: Opioid alternatives and epiproteomics

Our guest, Dr. Hernan Bazan, is the CEO and co-founder of South Rampart Pharma. He is also a board-certified vascular surgeon.Bazan is also the recipient of the 2024 NIH HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Director's Trailblazer Award for his work in developing a non-addictive pain medication as an alternative to opioids.At South Rampart Pharma, he is leading the development of SRP-001, a new type of pain medication that lacks the addictive potential of opioids and avoids safety and toxicity issues associated with other pain medications.SRP-001 has already received FDA Fast Track designation and was not associated with any serious adverse events (SAEs) in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The company is currently preparing to initiate its Phase 2 trial in the second quarter of 2025.Promise BioWe also have a conversation with Ronel Veksler, the co-founder and CEO of Promise Bio, whose AI-driven system combines multi-omics data analysis with proprietary machine learning algorithms to identify unique biomarkers and disease pathways, enabling early, precise diagnosis and personalized treatment strategies for autoimmune conditions.The company recently secured $8.3m in seed investment, with backing from Pfizer and AstraZeneca and has been recognized by TechCrunch as one of the most disruptive scientific startups of 2024.