Listening to Charli lecture was a very interesting and cool conversation. As a pet owner I've always been interested in animals and I thought about being a veterinarian for a while. Some of the things Charli talked about really sparked my interest for example when talking about the difference between dogs and cats it really stood out to me that we all know they're different, but to hear how they have to do different research and test in order to make a medicine that does the same thing is crazy. I think the funniest thing Charli said was that "cats are just so weird" which is funny to hear, but when she explained about how cats are difficult to make medicines for because they are not as similar to humans as dogs are and that they're genetics are just so different it makes it difficult. The example that comes to mind when talking about this is that dogs and cats have two different medicines that target different genes to treat osteoarthritis. For dogs its a medicine called Librela and for cats the medicine is Solensia and even though these two medicines treat the same thing they have a completely different mechanism of how they work.
Something that I really loved about Charli's presentation was the continuum of care:
I just think that this is so cool because its such a simple idea of what they want to do with their company and they found a way to put it into an image. The was that they have steps between the categories in order to help them find new treatments and other products for animals is a very inspiring and interesting thing.
I was looking through there website and something that caught my attention was under the livestock category and to be more specific I was looking at pig medication. I was looking though them and I kept seeing that they had multiple different medicines that treated pigs for SRD. Now I had no idea what SRD was, but it stands for "Swine Respiratory Disease" and it is the leading cause of death in pigs. SRD is responsible for 44% of nursery pigs deaths, 61% of grown pig deaths. Not only does this disease kill the pigs, but it also cost the farmers on average $15 per pig that gets SRD, and over all cost the pig industry over 1 billion dollars a year. After doing all of this research it makes sense why Zoetis spends so much time and money to find a treatment/cure for SRD. The way the drug works by my understanding (there wasn't a whole lot of research on it in pigs) is that the NAXCEL will prevent the bacterial (SRD bacteria) from building up its cell wall and then the EXCEDE (which is an anti-biotic) will kill the virus. So the this is a tag team duo right here that helps prevent the SRD from infecting and killing the pig.
At the end of the presentation she Charli asked us a few questions and the reason why she asked these questions is to really get us to think about our future. It's easy to say I want to be a doctor I want to be a vet, but when you think about who you are and the challenges you'll face along the way you realize no path is easy, and I think she tried to get us to think about this by posing these questions. The question I'm going to focus on is "what is your why?". It's such a short simple question that in reality is one of the most important questions you need to ask yourself when it comes to the future. For me the reason why I want to become a doctor is simple. I sounds like every body else but I love people and I love helping others. From a young age I've watched my parents sacrifice things in order to help other people no matter the consequences and I want to do the same thing with my life and that's why I want to be a doctor. I've had many experiences in my life where my first reaction was to help somebody despite it being inconvenient and potentially dangerous for me. These experiences and my love for people is definitely going to help me in my career in the future. I have many stories to tell on my med school application, and it will help me break the stigma of other doctors because I feel like while most doctors help people they can come off as arrogant and standoffish, and I truly want to change that by treating patients with respect, and care. I think this is what will set me apart from others because I like to think that I'm not a cocky future doctor, but a person who just cares about the well being of everyone around him.
Source:
https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/veterinary/EPAR/naxcel#:~:text=How%20does%20Naxcel%20work%3F,of%20the%20bacterial%20cell%20walls. ( How NAXCEL works)
https://www.zoetis.com/products-and-science/livestock (picture)
https://www.zoetisus.com/products/dairy/excede#:~:text=HOW%20IT%20WORKS,%C3%9F%2Dlactamase%2Dproducing%20strains. (How EXCEDE works)
https://www.zoetis.com/products-and-science/products/excede-naxcel-for-swine (Link to EXCEDE/ NAXCEL page)
I had no idea about Swine Respiratory Disease (SRD) being the leading killer for pig in the swine industry. I find the dedication that Zoetis has to providing a high quality of life to not only companion animals but also to livestock very interesting. My assumption is that a company would have focused on one more than the other but they choose to research and provide care for both. A question I have is that if the disease is caused by a bacteria or a virus? I believe that it sounds like it is an antibiotic for bacteria rather than an antiviral, but either way, it is interesting that they have both a preventative and a treatment for the pigs that get the disease. This approach of having both a preventative and a treatment really encapsulates the part of your post and Dr. Fant's presentation on the Continuum of Care. Being able to prevent the disease but also being able to treat the disease when it is rampant in a livestock population will help farmers be able to control the loss of livestock and not lose as much as they would by using a different type of medication that only prevents or treats the disease.
ReplyDeleteEli, I thought it was so interesting to hear about the cats as well! I think one of the best/most interesting themes I have learned in my four years here is that we often see the human body/way of life as almost a default. While cats may be difficult to develop drugs for, we have no idea how advanced their systems may be! It is so cool to think about and I know as future physicians the manipulation of a certain animal gene may be able to save hundreds of our patients’ lives in the same way that manipulating bacteria has helped so many. I think one admirable part of this post is your passion for medicine. I feel like so often physicians look at patients as a chart with a history and prognosis rather than as humans who just so happen to have a disease or issue that needs attention. You are clearly going to be a great doctor some day! I think this is the same energy I got from Dr. Can’t during her presentation. Zoetis is not here to make money off of a drug that may help animals, it is about treating pets and/or resources that enrich other people’s lives.
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