Author Archives: epidstrategies

A recent article by EpidStrategies scientists Dr. Sarah Cohen and Ms. Heidi Reichert, with co-authors from academia and industry, examines a new type of cancer screening that portends a potential paradigm shift in detecting multiple forms of cancer with a single blood test. Multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests have the potential to greatly improve screening efficacy, to lower the overall cost of follow-up testing by reducing the number of false positives, and to provide early detection of more than 50 types of cancer, many of which have no currently recommended screening tests. This publication demonstrates that MCED test technology added to current cancer screening guidelines may greatly increase the number of cancers detected without a large increase in false positives—all at a relatively low cost per cancer diagnosed. The British Journal of Cancer has made the paper available via open access, along with a corresponding blog piece by the first author, Dr. Allan Hackshaw, of University College London.

EpidStrategies scientists Dr. Jon Fryzek, Ms. Lauren Bylsma, and colleagues, have published a paper assessing one of the key elements of chemotherapy for cancer patients. Chemotherapy-induced toxicity is a constant challenge that is often addressed by reducing the dosage, which can be a factor in treatment failure for patients with likely curable malignancies. The study authors conducted a meta-analysis of scientific literature to assess the impact of relative dose intensity (RDI) on survival in adult patients. They concluded that maintaining an RDI of ≥80% or ≥85% for two regimens studied resulted in higher overall survival, stating that “management of toxicities across treatment modalities may contribute to maintenance of higher RDI and benefit survival for patients with advanced solid tumors.” The study appears in the “early view” posted online at The Oncologist.

EpidStrategies, a division of ToxStrategies, Inc., is excited to be participating in the European Hematology Association Virtual Congress, which will be held virtually from June 9^th through 17^th, 2021.

Jon Fryzek, Naushin Hooda, Xiaohui Jiang, and Gina Nicholson will present two virtual posters during the congress, on Friday, June 11, at 09:00 CEST. The posters are titled, “Healthcare resource utilization among patients with cold agglutinin disease in Denmark” and “Increased antidepressant use among newly diagnosed patients with cold agglutinin disease compared with other patients in a large US healthcare system.”

The abstracts will be published in the online Abstract Book, a supplement of HemaSphere (EHA’s official journal), the EHA Library, and the Virtual Congress platform. The abstracts are currently accessible on ehaweb.org, and will be available on the Virtual Congress platform at the time of the presentation. Registration is required to access the platform.

The EpidStrategies team, along with colleagues in industry and academia, have been deeply engaged in ongoing research on cold agglutinin disease (CAD), a rare, chronic type of autoimmune hemolytic anemia. In addition to the CAD work being presented at EHA 2021, our group has presented abstracts at the ISPOR Europe 2020 Virtual Conference (2020) and the Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis Research Annual Meeting (2020), and has published our work in the peer-reviewed publications Journal of Medical Economics, Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis, and Blood Advances.

EpidStrategies scientists are committed to assisting clients in developing therapies for rare diseases and have extensive experience supporting orphan product development and regulatory submissions by estimating target population size, characterizing rare patient populations, and identifying relevant clinical endpoints and potential safety concerns. For more information about our rare disease services, please see our website

ToxStrategies is pleased to announce that John M. Rogers, Ph.D., has joined our Health Sciences Practice, following a distinguished career with the U.S. EPA. Dr. Rogers brings more than 40 years of experience in the areas of developmental and reproductive toxicology, further strengthening the body of expertise that we offer our clients.

Dr. Rogers’ experience includes evaluating and advising on animal and in vitro toxicology research to support U.S. EPA decision-making. He also brings a wealth of teaching experience at Duke University, the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, and the University of Miami. In addition, he has held several positions with the Society of Toxicology, in their Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Special Section, and the Teratology Society (now the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention).

Dr. Rogers has served on the editorial boards of The Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Mutation Research – Reviews and The Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, and also served as an Associate Editor for Environmental Health Research and Birth Defects Research (BDR). He is currently Co-Editor of BDR. He is a recognized expert in developmental and reproductive toxicology, with more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and 40 book chapters, including  writing the chapter “Developmental Toxicology” in Casarett and Doull’s Toxicology (now in it’s ninth edition).

During his distinguished career, Dr. Rogers has won fourteen Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards and three Bronze Medals for his research at EPA, including research on the developmental toxicity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFOA) and methanol, maternal toxicity and adverse outcome pathways.

Learn more about Dr. Rogers here .

Ms. Mina Suh, along with colleagues within EpidStrategies (a Division of ToxStrategies), and external collaborators, has been conducting research on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), especially as it relates to infants and children in the United States. In a prospective viral surveillance study, which was recently accepted for publication by the Journal of Pediatrics (preview here), Ms. Suh and researchers from the medical research community described common respiratory infections, including influenza, RSV, and rhinovirus/enterovirus, in infants from December 2019 through April 2020, across outpatient, emergency department, and inpatient settings in Davidson County, Tennessee. Testing for SARS-Cov-2 was added with the onset of Covid-19. Results show that RSV is detected across various clinical settings (outpatient, emergency department, inpatient) and has the highest disease severity compared to other viral pathogens.  The authors conclude that continued surveillance of infants, in different clinical settings, is needed to fully assess the burden exerted by RSV, and importantly, to inform vaccine development. 

The team of epidemiologists at EpidStrategies (a Division of ToxStrategies), along with colleagues in industry and academia, have been deeply involved in ongoing research on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children. This work is reflected in a trio of abstracts being accepted for presentation at pediatrics-related conferences. Among the studies presented are one noting lower occurrence levels of RSV during the current pandemic, and one evaluating congenital heart disease among RSV-affected children 2 years and younger. The third study compared RSV-related hospitalizations before and after the American Academy of Pediatrics changed their guidance to recommend against the use of palivizumad, an immunoprophylaxis that was being used for at-risk infants. 

The recently accepted RSV-related abstracts are: 

William Malcolm, Kimberley Fisher, Charles T. Wood, Naimisha Movva, Mina Suh, Zachary Wolf, Suresh Balu, Mark Sendak, Bradley Hintze, Meghan White,  Jon Fryzek, Christopher B. Nelson. Infant lower respiratory tract infections, including those caused by RSV, are significantly below historical levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatrics Academic Societies 2021, April 30 – May 4, 2021.

Jaime Fergie, Tara Gonzales, Mina Suh, Xiaohui Jiang, Jon P. Fryzek, Naushin Hooda, Ashley Howard, Adam Bloomfield. Higher–risk congenital heart disease (CHD) among children aged ≤24 months with respiratory syncytial virus hospitalizations (RSVH) and all-cause bronchiolitis hospitalizations (BH). 37th Annual Children’s National Symposium: ECMO and the Advanced Therapies for Cardiovascular and Respiratory Failure, Feb 21–23, 2021. 

Jaime Fergie, Tara Gonzales, Mina Suh, Xiaohui Jiang, Jon P. Fryzek, Naushin Hooda, Ashley Howard, Adam Bloomfield. Higher-risk congenital heart disease (CHD) among children aged ≤24 months with respiratory syncytial virus hospitalizations (RSVH) and all-cause bronchiolitis hospitalizations (BH) at RSV season before and after the 2014 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidance. California Association of Neonatologists’ 27th Annual Cool Topics in Neonatology Conference, March 5–7, 2021. 

EpidStrategies, a division of ToxStrategies is excited to be participating in the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, which will be held virtually on December 5-8, 2020. 

Xiaohui Jiang and Jon Fryzek will have a virtual poster during the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting on Saturday, December 5, 2020. Their presentation of the poster will be available from 7:30 am-3:30 pm PST.  

The poster is titled, “Medically attended anxiety and depression is increased among newly diagnosed patients with cold agglutinin disease (CAD).”  

This year’s ASH accepted abstracts are open access. Click here to view their abstract. 

Registration for the annual meeting is now open to ASH members, as well as to non-members. Register here.  

Dr. Naushin Hooda, an EpidStrategies Doctor of Pharmacy based in Toronto, will participate in a virtual panel discussion as part of the Canadian Pharmacists’ Association Women in Pharmacy Leadership Empowerment Panel, sponsored by Amgen. The five-person panel will focus on “Social Capital: Strategic Networking for Women in Leadership” during the event on November 18, 2020, 11:00–12:30 pm ET. There is no charge to those interested in listening in: register here.

Dr. Hooda has a clinical and research background in pharmacotherapy and pharmaceutical development in both the Canadian and U.S. marketplaces.

EpidStrategies scientists, including Dr. Jon Fryzek, Ms. Mina Suh, Ms. Heidi Reichert, Ms. Lauren Bylsma, Dr. Sarah Cohen, Ms. Xiaohui Jiang, and Ms. Naimisha Movva will be attending the upcoming annual conference sponsored by the International Society for Pharmacological Epidemiology. The conference will be held on September 16-17, 2020 and will be virtual this year, presenting live-stream and on-demand sessions through ICPE All Access for meeting registrants.

EpidStrategies scientists have collaborated with toxicologists from ToxStrategies’ Biopharmaceuticals/Pharmaceuticals Practice to produce a white paper that provides “Critical insights into nonclinical toxicology and real-world evidence essential for a successful rare disease product launch.” The paper summarizes how well-designed nonclinical studies, coupled with an understanding of the epidemiology and natural history of the condition, can support a clinical program in the rare disease arena.