Seismology

• WARRINGTON, Pa., April 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. (“Windtree” or “the Company”) (NasdaqCM: WINT), a biotechnology company focused on advancing early and late-stage innovative therapies for critical conditions, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and provided key business updates.
• Research and development expenses were $3.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to $1.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2022.
• General and administrative expenses for the fourth quarter of 2023 were $1.9 million, compared to $2.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2022.
• For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2023, the Company reported an operating loss of $5.0 million, compared to an operating loss of $10.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.

• One study even called the care delivered to many vulnerable patients “inhumane.” Seismic changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic – particularly the shift to telehealth – only exacerbated that feeling.
• In response, many health systems now emphasize “relational medicine”: care that purports to center on the patient as a human being.
• Seeing each person before you as someone of infinite value is fundamental to many faiths’ beliefs about medical ethics.

Divine dignity

• For doctors today, this might mean taking care not to inflict shame on a person with a stigmatized illness like substance use or obesity.
• A 1981 Islamic code of medical ethics, for instance, considers the patient the leader of the medical team.
• The doctor exists “for the sake of the patient … not the other way round,” it reminds practitioners.

Seeing and hearing the whole patient

In undergraduate classes that I teach for future health professionals at the University of Pittsburgh, we focus on communication skills to foster dignified care, such as setting a shared agenda with a patient to align their goals and the provider’s. Students also read “Compassionomics,” by medical researchers Stephen Trzeciak and Anthony Mazzarelli, which aggregates the data showing caring’s impact on the well-being of patients and providers alike.

• However, even health professionals steeped in these practices can encounter people whose humanity they struggle to see.
• The course evaluation is based on a project in which students interview a friend, relative or neighbor about their experience of illness and care.
• Ultimately, they identify one element of the person’s care that could have been improved by attending more to the person’s individual needs and listening to their story.

Listening with both ears

• Down the road at Chatham University, I work with physician assistant students who are about to enter clinic for the first time.
• These students complete a workshop including many of the same communication exercises, including “listening with both ears”: listening not only to the patient, but also to what they themselves say to the patient, considering how it will be received.

• Many of them report using patient-centered skills in challenging situations, such as validating patients’ concerns that had previously been dismissed.
• Yet they also report a work culture where effective communication is often seen as taking too much time or as a low priority.
• The emphasis on technology and a rapid pace of treatment leaves scant room for caring, whether in Heschel’s day or ours.

Jonathan Weinkle is affiliated with American College of Physicians and American Academy of Pediatrics.

• WARRINGTON, Pa., Nov. 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. (“Windtree” or “the Company”) (NasdaqCM: WINT), a biotechnology company focused on advancing late-stage interventions for cardiovascular disorders, today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023 and provided key business updates.
• “During the third quarter, we initiated our plan to move the istaroxime program in cardiogenic shock to Phase 3 readiness by advancing two clinical trials.
• Research and development expenses were $2.1 million for the third quarter of 2023, compared to $1.5 million for the third quarter of 2022.
• General and administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2023 were $2.6 million, compared to $2.7 million for the third quarter of 2022.

• Seismic Therapeutic, Inc ., the machine learning immunology company, today announced that it has closed a $121 million Series B financing.
• In addition, the Series B will enable the continued growth of the company’s pipeline in both the IgSc and DcB product areas, beyond the lead programs.
• This progress resulted from Seismic’s integration of leading-edge machine learning into drug development in a specific area – biologics for immunology – powered by a diverse team of drug developers and machine learning innovators.
• “This financing enables us to continue our momentum and advance both of our exciting lead programs into the clinic.