The Greater New Orleans region is making significant strides in advancing healthcare through innovative research, cutting-edge technology and groundbreaking medical developments, including these three top stories.
LSU Seeks National Cancer Institute Designation
In Louisiana, cancer rates are more than 40% higher than the national average. The nearest National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers are located hundreds of miles away in neighboring states.
Despite Louisiana State University President William Tate’s recent announcement of a hiring freeze, LSU will forge ahead with medical research and healthcare innovation at the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center.
In its role as lead applicant, LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center is preparing for National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation. University Medical Center (UMC) New Orleans and Manning Family Children’s Hospital, both LCMC Health System hospitals, will also be flagship applicants.
The NCI designation application aims to revolutionize in-state cancer research and treatment by providing exceptional scientific leadership in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment in Louisiana. NCI designation signifies that the institutions involved are using the latest therapies and clinical trials with speedy conversion from scientific discovery to effective treatments.
Dr. Lucio Miele, director of the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center, emphasized the center’s dedication to providing world-class cancer care to every patient.
“Through our state-of-the-art clinical trials office, we are actively expanding access to clinical trials across Louisiana and nationally,” said Miele, “ensuring patients receive the most advanced therapies available.”
In 2022, LSU Health New Orleans and LCMC Health each committed $50 million to establish the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center, aiming to advance cancer research, education and patient care in Louisiana. The goal of the collaboration is to integrate LSU Health’s academic and research expertise with LCMC Health’s clinical resources to reduce cancer disparities across the state and the Gulf South. LCMC Health’s total $75 million investment over five years also includes funding for scholarships, infrastructure and cancer-focused research.
“Louisiana is one of only a few states with an extremely high cancer incidence that lacks an NCI-designated cancer center,” said Dr. Steve Nelson, chancellor of LSU Health New Orleans.
Achieving NCI designation is a rigorous process with stringent eligibility criteria set by the National Cancer Institute. The process includes establishing a robust community outreach and engagement program to educate Louisiana residents on cancer prevention, detection and treatments.
The LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center has established a Phase 1 Clinical Trials Program to evaluate innovative cancer therapies in patients and has started enrolling patients in pioneering cancer treatment trials. In 2023, the center recruited oncologist Dr. Shou-Ching Tang to lead this initiative. Tang is a world-renowned clinician scientist and cancer center administrator, recognized for his significant contributions to cancer research, particularly in breast cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
One of the key components of earning NCI designation involves continuing to recruit world-class researchers.
“We are planning to recruit 40 funded scientists over three to four years,” said Lee Sabatini, director of external affairs for the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center.
In the past, NCI-designated cancer centers in the U.S. have helped rapidly advance cancer research and, as a result, the number of cancer survivors and the quality of patients’ lives have improved.
“If you’re one of the tens of thousands of people in our state who has been diagnosed with cancer, you know firsthand the difficulties this disease can bring,” said Miele. “What is clear is that all Louisianians deserve first-class cancer care.”
Ochsner BioDesign Lab at Work on the Future of Healthcare
Established in 2016 under the leadership of Dr. Korak Sarkar, the BioDesign Lab at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans uses advanced technologies such as 3D printing and virtual reality to improve visualization of complex medical images for medical trainees, clinicians and patients.
The BioDesign Lab develops innovative diagnostic and therapeutic tools, including advanced imaging technologies, wearable sensors for patient monitoring, minimally invasive surgical devices and digital health platforms that integrate real-time data analytics.
“Louisiana is one of only a few states with an extremely high cancer incidence that lacks an NCI-designated cancer center.”
– Dr. Steve Nelson, chancellor of LSU Health New Orleans
“We have multiple collaborations internally and externally,” said Sarkar, the lab’s director. “Our most mature work is with Ochsner neurosciences and includes collaborations with our stroke, seizure and spine teams. Internally, we also work with many other Ochsner specialties, including pediatric cardiology, orthopedics, liver and kidney transplant, information systems, Innovation Ochsner, philanthropy and academics.”
Targeting specific issues such as chronic disease management, enhancing surgical precision, reducing hospital readmission rates and streamlining patient data integration, the BioDesign Lab team works on projects for optimizing personalized treatment plans and developing predictive models for patient risk assessment.
“Our core focus thus far has been on advanced visualization,” explained Sarkar. “We also have done work in simulation, [such as] helping medical students learn how to perform lumbar punctures using augmented reality and aiding surgical residents learning how to perform kidney transplants using 3D printed simulators. “We have also developed a therapeutic VR-based application that has been studied in the pediatric orthopedic population.”
Current virtual reality applications under development include collaborations with neurorehabilitation therapists to establish an optical virtual environment to treat vestibulopathy (dizziness), as well as create VR applications focused on improving mobility and postural stability in people with progressive neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s Disease
Local Surgeon Advance Non-Opioid Pain Management Option
Dr. Hernan Bazan wears many hats: As CEO of South Rampart Pharma, Inc., (SRP) which he co-founded in 2016, Bazan manages and conducts the company’s clinical-stage life science advancements in the development of safer, non-opioid therapies for acute and chronic pain.
The company originated as a spin-out from LSU Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, which exclusively licensed the patents for a new class of non-opioid pain therapeutics to SRP.
Bazan is also a vascular surgeon and the John Ochsner Endowed Professor of Surgery in Innovation at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans.
“As a practicing surgeon and physician at Ochsner Health, I’ve directly observed the profound clinical need for safer and more effective pain management solutions amid the escalating opioid and fentanyl crises,” said Bazan.
The new medication — currently called SRP-001 — has been cleared by the FDA to progress in its clinical development in multiple pipelines.
“SRP-001 is uniquely positioned to address the opioid and fentanyl challenges, having earned the FDA’s Fast Track designation for acute pain, reflecting the significant therapeutic potential and urgent societal need,” said Bazan.
“SRP-001 has been through extensive FDA pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) application studies, collaborating with premier research groups nationwide to de-risk its clinical development,” said Bazan. “We also worked at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans with state-of-the-art molecular techniques to establish how it works in the brain to treat pain safely.”
This rigorous foundation enabled SRP to secure NIH grants along with private strategic dilutive capital from investors in exchange for equity or ownership stakes in SRP for a total fund of over $15 million. SRP has also raised funding from Ochsner Ventures and Gulf South Angels.
The drug received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization as an Investigational New Drug (IND) which means it is approved to be administered as an experimental drug or biological product to humans in clinical trials.
“We have completed a successful Phase 1 randomized clinical trial and are now poised to commence Phase 2 randomized clinical trials,” said Bazan.
Kelly Hite is the associate news editor for Biz New Orleans, responsible for delivering daily business news on BizNewOrleans.com, focusing on developments that impact the greater New Orleans area and southeast Louisiana. She may be reached via email at KellyH@BizNewOrleans.com.
