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Digital Health Today – Asia Pacific Edition with Tony Estrella

Digital Health Today – Asia Pacific Edition with Tony Estrella

Join host Tony Estrella in Singapore as he speaks to leaders and organizations driving health innovation and transformation in Asia Pacific.

Ep25: Addressing Unmet Medical Needs and Driving Change: Roche’s Approach to Data-Driven Healthcare

Transforming health care systems is difficult, and yet that is the goal we are trying to achieve when we are leveraging the technologies of the future to address current health care challenges. And if you're a global multinational, the challenges can be even more complicated. Your day to day can be a mix of conflicting priorities, such as in dealing with the needs of today's business while also keeping an eye on the future, a future which includes health system transformations, personalized health, and health equity. In this episode I speak with Ahmed El Hosseini, the area head for Roche Pharma in Asia Pacific at their offices in Singapore to discuss how a global multinational can drive change, I'm excited to join. During this podcast Ahmed and I discuss: The portfolio of organizations and companies that make up Roche Managing patient journeys and data driven healthcare systems How Roche Partners partners enable success in addressing unmet needs Building effective public-private partnerships Creating sustainable change in the next 18 to 24 months.  About Ahmend Ahmed Elhusseiny has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for nearly 20 years, working across Europe, North America and Asia. He has a strong track record of developing and implementing comprehensive strategies for innovative health therapies. Prior to joining Roche in 2013, he was at Novartis for ten years, where he led various business units, including Ophthalmology and Primary Care. Guest's Links and Resources Connect with Ahmed: LinkedIn Visit Roche Episode PDF Host's Links and Resources: Connect with Tony Estrella: Twitter | LinkedIn | Personal Website Connect with Taliossa Read Tony’s Book: Comatose FutureProofing Healthcare | FutureProofing Healthcare APAC index Full White Paper, Summary and Video: A Vision for Asia Pacific in 2050 Follow Digital Health Today: Browse Episodes | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Follow Health Podcast Network: Browse Shows | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Digital Health Today is made possible by the support of our sponsors. Special thanks to: Amalgam Rx | Bayer G4A | Lindus Health | LSI
October 18, 2023

Ep24: What Trends and Challenges Lie Ahead for Health Tech Investment? Insights from Scarlett Chen,

A key driver to create the future of health in both personalized health and health equity is innovation, an innovation that comes from technology. Startups who are creating disruptive products and services are typically fueled by venture capital investors. But how can startups and investors align with future end customers to create the health ecosystems of tomorrow? In this episode, I speak with Scarlett Chen, Managing Partner at Verge HealthTech Fund. Throughout her career she's helped drive business growth as both an investor and through m & a. During this podcast Scarlett and I discuss: Defining HealthTech and why it is a necessary element for the future of health About Verge as a fund and their focus on returns and impact Trends and challenges in health tech investments from Verge’s State of HealthTech events How to become a health tech / digital health success story Thoughts on the next 18 months in HealthTech About Scarlett Chenn Ms Scarlett Chen is Managing Partner at Verge HealthTech Fund, a VC fund manager focused exclusively on impactful HealthTech startups at a global scale and at the early stage. Previously as Managing Director at Prudential Corporation Asia, Ms Chen was responsible for Strategic Investments. Before Prudential, Ms. Chen worked at Anbang Capital as Global Head of Financial Institutions Group where she led a number of outbound investments in Europe and Asia. Before joining the buy-side, Ms. Chen was an investment banker for over a decade, having worked at Merrill Lynch in the US and Barclays in Hong Kong, where she executed more than US$30 billion in capital markets and advisory transactions. Guest's Links and Resources Connect with Scarlett Chenn: LinkedIn Visit Verge HealthTech Fund Episode PDF Host's Links and Resources: Connect with Tony Estrella: Twitter | LinkedIn | Personal Website Connect with Taliossa Read Tony’s Book: Comatose FutureProofing Healthcare | FutureProofing Healthcare APAC index Full White Paper, Summary and Video: A Vision for Asia Pacific in 2050 Follow Digital Health Today: Browse Episodes | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Follow Health Podcast Network: Browse Shows | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Digital Health Today is made possible by the support of our sponsors. Special thanks to: Amalgam Rx | Bayer G4A | Lindus Health | LSI
September 13, 2023

Ep23: Precision Public Health: A Recap of the 2023 ASEAN Summit

Health systems are faced with many choices when it comes to population health.  Increasing costs for sick care, decisions on which innovations they can approve and afford, and evolving medical practices in both prevention and treatment which can challenge existing regulatory norms.  In this episode, I speak with Clive Tan, a Founding Member of Precision Public Health Asia Society to discuss how their work is serving to harmonise the decisions the ASEAN region is making to improve population health. The Society recently held their biennial event in Singapore, including esteemed speakers including Singapore’s Minister of Health Ye Kun Ong.   During this podcast Clive and I discuss: The definition of "position public health" and how it has evolved over the past decade Singapore’s HealthierSG programme How economic growth in ASEAN countries is impacting public health priorities Main takeaways from the leadership forum in terms of country development and collaboration opportunities The regulatory opportunities discussed at the leadership forum About Clive Tan Clive Tan is a medical doctor and Public Health specialist with close to two decades of clinical and leadership experience in the healthcare sector. As Assistant Chief of Group Integrated Care (Population Health) in the National Healthcare Group, he is responsible for strategic planning for integrated care and population health efforts for the 1.5 million residents in the Central-North region of Singapore. His work in care integration incorporates value-based care, behavioral change incentives, payment models, healthcare quality and digitalization – with a strong emphasis on place-based care and relationship-based care. He holds a MBBS from Singapore and a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from Johns Hopkins University, along with certificates in Gerontology, Humanitarian Assistance and Health Informatics (AMIA). He is also an Atlantic Fellow in the Equity Initiative Programme, which works in South-East Asia to reduce health inequities. Together with the National University of Singapore’s School of Public Health and the Precision Public Health Asia Society, he recently published the White Paper on Responsible Data Sharing in Health and Healthcare in May 2022, which outlines useful and practical steps that stakeholders can take to build a more progressive state of data sharing in the health sector. He is a Founding Member of the Precision Public Health Asia Society, and was the organizing chairperson for the Precision Public Health Asia Conference, held in Singapore in July 2023. He is an adjunct Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore’s School of Public Health where he teaches healthcare management, digital health and data sharing in health. Guest's Links and Resources Connect with Clive Tan: LinkedIn Visit Precision Public Health Asia Society Definition of ASEAN Host's Links and Resources: Connect with Tony Estrella: Twitter | LinkedIn | Personal Website Connect with Taliossa Read Tony’s Book: Comatose FutureProofing Healthcare | FutureProofing Healthcare APAC index Full White Paper, Summary and Video: A Vision for Asia Pacific in 2050 Follow Digital Health Today: Browse Episodes | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Follow Health Podcast Network: Browse Shows | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Digital Health Today is made possible by the support of our sponsors. Special thanks to: Amalgam Rx | Bayer G4A | Lindus Health | LSI
August 9, 2023

Ep22: Scaling a global Artificial Intelligence platform for Healthcare to more than 80 countries

Today, we are more fascinated than ever by how Artificial Intelligence can affect the future of any industry, including healthcare. But AI alone can’t solve healthcare. To make an impact, solutions built with AI have to fit into the right ecosystem to enable better consumer journeys and health outcomes. In this episode, I speak with Prashant Warier, the co-founder and CEO of Qure. Over the past 6 years, he’s learned how to convert the promise of how Artificial Intelligence can be used in Healthcare into three clear use-cases that solve the needs of millions of people across 80 countries. During this podcast, we discuss: • The value of mentors and advisors to help identify disruptive opportunities that drive exponential change in healthcare • How a background in Data Science changed the way to develop effective AI products • The three clear use-cases for AI and Radiology that led to reaching millions of people across 80 countries by focusing on autonomous X-Ray interpretation • How a team of 250 people can scale by building effective partnerships with organisations like Astra Zeneca and the NHS About Prashant Warier Prashant Warier is Founder and CEO of Qure.ai, a leading Artificial Intelligence company in Radiology. He is an expert in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning and has architected and commercialized several AI solutions during his career. His work has been published in journals such as The Lancet and Nature. He is passionate about using AI and machine learning to make healthcare affordable and accessible. Prashant is an evangelist for the adoption of AI in radiology and has given multiple TedX talks, including one at the largest TedX event in the world in Mumbai. In the past, Prashant was Chief Data Scientist at Fractal.ai and also founded AI - powered advertising technology startup Imagna which was acquired by Fractal.ai in 2015. Guest's Links and Resources Connect with Prashant Warier: LinkedIn Qure.ai Qure Impact Page NHS AI Toolkit Global Health AI Tool Kit (for SEA and India) Episode PDF Host's Links and Resources: Connect with Tony Estrella: Twitter | LinkedIn | Personal Website Connect with Taliossa Read Tony’s Book: Comatose FutureProofing Healthcare | FutureProofing Healthcare APAC index Full White Paper, Summary and Video: A Vision for Asia Pacific in 2050 Follow Digital Health Today: Browse Episodes | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Follow Health Podcast Network: Browse Shows | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Digital Health Today is made possible by the support of our sponsors. Special thanks to: Amalgam Rx | Bayer G4A | Lindus Health | LSI
June 28, 2023

Ep21: Enabling greater scale for Patient Advocacy in APAC

Engaging with active and well-informed individuals is the essential element of any successful health ecosystem. Without them, healthcare and digital health companies are building solutions that can’t improve health outcomes. Patient advocacy groups are one way that individuals can become empowered. But across the world, the impact of such groups is dependent on external factors to help them achieve scale. In this episode, I speak with Ruth Kuguru, the Regional Head for Communications and Patient Engagement for Novartis who has developed a platform to change this dynamic for patient advocacy groups. During this podcast, we discuss: How Novartis created a platform to bring together different stakeholders and putting patients at the forefront of improving Habitats – another word for Ecosystems Describing the components of the Alliance & Partnerships for Patient Innovation & Solutions (APPIS) including a case study in the Philippines Why patient advocacy groups are the “real deal” for creating engaged individuals Scaling the impact of patient advocacy into a corporate capability that goes beyond the traditional model for pharma manufacturers About Ruth Kuguru Ruth Kuguru is the Executive Director, Communications & Patient Engagement for Novartis Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. In her role, she leads her team to foster open, inclusive, and strong partnerships with patient communities, media, and healthcare leaders in Asia Pacific, Middle East and African countries. She is passionate about the impact strong collaboration can have in accelerating access and developing innovative solutions for patients. Guest's Links and Resources Connect with Ruth Kuguru: LinkedIn Novartis: Website Host's Links and Resources: Connect with Tony Estrella: Twitter | LinkedIn | Personal Website Connect with Taliossa Read Tony’s Book: Comatose FutureProofing Healthcare | FutureProofing Healthcare APAC index Full White Paper, Summary and Video: A Vision for Asia Pacific in 2050 Follow Digital Health Today: Browse Episodes | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Follow Health Podcast Network: Browse Shows | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Digital Health Today is made possible by the support of our sponsors. Special thanks to: Amalgam Rx | Akili | Bayer G4A | Lindus Health
May 30, 2023

New episodes of Digital Health Today APAC Edition in 2023

Join host Tony Estrella each month as he explores with his guests what it takes to build successful ecosystems across Asia-Pacific. You’ll hear thought-provoking interviews with industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors who bring real-life examples of building effective partnerships that solve some of the most important healthcare challenges across this vibrant region. Whether you’re already in healthcare, a tech enthusiast, or simply curious about what is happening in Asia-Pacific, tune in to the APAC Edition of Digital Health Today. Host's Links and Resources: Connect with Tony Estrella: Twitter | LinkedIn | Personal Website Connect with Taliossa Read Tony’s Book: Comatose FutureProofing Healthcare | FutureProofing Healthcare APAC index Full White Paper, Summary and Video: A Vision for Asia Pacific in 2050 Follow Digital Health Today: Browse Episodes | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Follow Health Podcast Network: Browse Shows | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Digital Health Today is made possible by the support of our sponsors. Special thanks to: Amalgam Rx | Akili | Bayer G4A | Lindus Health
May 29, 2023

Ep20: Changing the Way Insurers Interact with Their Customers – a Conversation with Paul Hughes from UnderwriteMe

Globally, the insurance industry is rapidly changing with the increasing use of technology throughout the value chain. And because individuals in Asia Pacific tend to buy and use health insurance from life insurers, the need for data, customer engagement, and digital transformation is particularly essential. In this episode, I speak with Paul Hughes, the Head of Asia Pacific for UnderwriteMe. Paul and I first worked together at MetLife Asia many years ago, and he has worked across Asia Pacific for many other private insurers. In his current role, he is at the epicenter of the change spurred by technology and data, including digital health. In this episode, we discuss: • The structure of the typical insurance, from sales to operations • How technology and data are changing the way insurers need to operate • The role of digital tools including health and insurtech • The future of underwriting Paul Hughes Paul leads the Asia Pacific team at UnderwriteMe, a leading provider of underwriting automation solutions that helps insurers transform their new business process. He is responsible for creating and leading the growth strategy for the business in Asia Pacific and ensuring client success. With over 25 years of experience in the life and health insurance industry in Asia Pacific, he had held senior roles in Underwriting, Claims, Operations, Product and Marketing with leading insurers and reinsurers such as Swiss Re, Aviva, AIA, and MetLife. Guest's Links and Resources Connect with Paul Hughes: LinkedIn UnderwriteMe: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Host's Links and Resources: Connect with Tony Estrella: Twitter | LinkedIn | Personal Website Connect with Taliossa Read Tony’s Book: Comatose FutureProofing Healthcare | FutureProofing Healthcare APAC index Full White Paper, Summary and Video: A Vision for Asia Pacific in 2050 Follow Digital Health Today: Browse Episodes | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Follow Health Podcast Network: Browse Shows | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Digital Health Today is made possible by the support of our sponsors. Special thanks to: Bayer G4A Takeda Roche
December 9, 2021

Ep19: Moving beyond the traditional role of academia in healthcare – a profile of Dean Ho from National University of Singapore

The role of academia is an essential one for digital health. In addition to providing the platform to conduct clinical research and showcase where technology can create impact, the right environment also becomes the training ground for future leaders and change makers. In this episode, I speak with Dean Ho, who is one of the unique individuals who effectively bridges the different worlds of academia and business building. Dean is the Provost’s Chair Professor, Director of The N.1 Institute for Health (N.1), Director of the Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM), and Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the National University of Singapore. He's also an experienced business builder and entrepreneur. In our conversation we cover: • The evolving role of academia in becoming a hands-on partner for Health Innovation • The impact of Digital Health including AI on regulatory • How National University of Singapore is taking a role in designing the next generation of clinical innovation • The need for Digital Therapeutics in APAC Professor Dean Ho Using his CURATE.AI platform, Prof.Dean Ho has led multiple pioneering clinical studies that have validated the promise of N-of-1 medicine, where only a patient’s own data is used to personalise their treatment for the entire duration of care. Multiple CURATE.AI-based clinical studies are ongoing or cleared for start in the areas of solid cancer and blood cancer therapy, digital therapeutics/personalised learning, and post-organ transplant immunosuppression, among others.  Prof. Ho is an elected member of the US National Academy of Inventors (NAI). He is also a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the Royal Society of Chemistry, and Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening, as well as a Fulbright Scholar. Prof Ho is also currently a Subgroup Lead of the World Health Organization-ITU AI for Health Working Group for Regulatory Considerations. He has also served as the President of the Board of Directors of the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS), a 26,000+ member global drug development organization comprised of senior executives from the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors, as well as academic thought leaders.  Prof. Ho is a recipient of the Tech Heroes from Crisis: Pathfinder Award from the Singapore Computer Society, NSF CAREER Award, Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Translational Research Award, and V Foundation for Cancer Research Scholar Award, among others. Prof. Ho was also named to the Asia Tatler Gen.T List, which honours young leaders who are shaping the future of the region. Prof. Ho has appeared on the National Geographic Channel Program “Known Universe” to discuss his discoveries in drug delivery and imaging. His discoveries have been featured on CNN, The Economist, Forbes, Washington Post, NPR and other international news outlets. He has advised major publicly listed companies as well as venture capital and private equity funds in the areas of digital medicine and pharmaceutical development, among other sectors. Guest's Links and Resources Connect with Dean Ho: LinkedIn | Twitter The N.1 Institute for Health (N.1): Website | Twitter | LinkedIn WisDM: Twitter Host's Links and Resources: Connect with Tony Estrella: Twitter | LinkedIn | Personal Website Connect with Taliossa Read Tony’s Book: Comatose FutureProofing Healthcare | FutureProofing Healthcare APAC index Full White Paper, Summary and Video: A Vision for Asia Pacific in 2050 Follow Digital Health Today: Browse Episodes | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Follow Health Podcast Network: Browse Shows | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Digital Health Today is made possible by the support of our sponsors. Special thanks to: Bayer G4A Takeda Roche
December 1, 2021
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About Digital Health Today with Tony Estrella

In this extension to the long-running Digital Health Today series, Tony Estrella focuses in on the Asia Pacific region and dives into topics ranging from:
  • how to segment this region of 40+ countries spanning over 4.6 billion people
  • how are the traditional roles of patients, payers, and providers different in this region
  • comparing and contrasting the challenges people face in healthcare across this region as compared to western countries
  • what motivates some of the leading minds to push forward with disruptive solutions
The Asia Pacific region is seeing exciting growth across all facets of digital health. Tony speaks with leaders and organizations in insurance, pharma, clinicians, medical devices, investors, entrepreneurs, and policy makers to provide you with insights to guide your interests in this region.

Host

Tony Estrella

Tony Estrella

Tony empowers startups and publicly listed health companies to establish product-market fit within Asia Pacific markets. Through advisory projects and supporting venture investors, Tony accelerates disruptive innovation in longevity, population health, cancer, brain health, and sleep science. He is also an independent board director actively supporting company executives to navigate complex business challenges.

As an author, his creativity is inspired by his lucid dreaming with attention on predicting the future of healthcare as influenced by technologies including AI, smart devices, and robotics. His debut novel Comatose explores the science of the mind and dreams in a globe-trotting speculative fiction thriller.

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