Norovirus: The World's Most Contagious Virus & The Race For The First Antiviral - James Sapirstein, CEO and Dr. Sam Lee, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer - Cocrystal Pharma

Send us Fan MailEvery year, nearly 700 million people around the world are infected by norovirus. Most people know it as a miserable few days of vomiting and diarrhea - but for transplant patients, cancer patients, and other immunocompromised individuals, it can become a chronic and potentially life-threatening infection. And despite decades of research, we still have no approved antiviral treatment. Today we're exploring the science behind the race to change that.James Sapirstein is Chief Executive Officer of Cocrystal Pharma ( https://www.cocrystalpharma.com/ ) and one of the biotechnology industry's most experienced commercialization executives.Throughout a career spanning more than four decades, James has participated in or led an extraordinary twenty-three pharmaceutical product launches while building and leading multiple biotechnology companies. He has served as CEO of Cocrystal Pharma, Contravir Pharmaceuticals, Tobira Therapeutics, First Wave BioPharma, and several other innovative life science organizations. Earlier in his career James held senior leadership roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, Serono Laboratories, Roche, and Eli Lilly, helping bring important therapies for infectious disease and other major conditions to patients around the world. Beyond industry, James has served on numerous biotechnology boards, including the Biotechnology Innovation Organization and BioNJ, making him one of the most respected leaders in the biotechnology ecosystem.James received a BS (Pharmacy) from Rutgers University and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.Dr. Sam Lee, Ph.D. is President and Chief Scientific Officer of Cocrystal Pharma. Dr. Lee has devoted more than twenty-five years to discovering next-generation antiviral medicines. Before joining Cocrystal, he led anti-infective drug discovery efforts at ICOS Corporation, where he pioneered the integration of protein crystallography and structure-based screening technologies into pharmaceutical research. His scientific work contributed to the development of PI3K delta inhibitors that ultimately led to an FDA-approved therapy. Dr. Lee earned his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Notre Dame before completing postdoctoral research in viral biochemistry at Stanford University under renowned molecular biologist Dr. I. R. Lehman. His career has focused on understanding viruses at the atomic level to design highly targeted antiviral drugs capable of overcoming viral evolution and resistance.#Norovirus #AntiviralResearch #DrugDiscovery #Biotechnology #Biotech #PharmaInnovation #RNAViruses #ViralDiseases #InfectiousDisease #PublicHealth #StructureBasedDrugDiscovery #PrecisionMedicine #MedicinesOfTheFuture #FutureOfHealthcare #BiomedicalResearch #PharmaceuticalInnovation #ClinicalTrials #PandemicPreparedness #HealthcareInnovation #ScienceAndTechnology #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #PPPSupport the show