Forging the Way Ahead to Better Drug Development for NASH Patients

Sidney Barritt IV, MD, MSCR, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, UNC School of Medicine

Dr. Barritt is an associate professor in the UNC Liver Center at the University of North Carolina, where he conducts clinical outcomes research in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), general hepatology and liver transplantation. Dr. Barritt leads the UNC Liver Center’s clinical trial program in NAFLD, where he is PI on multiple phase 2 and 3 industry-sponsored clinical trials. He is also a collaborator and advisor to multiple other investigators in the allied schools of health, including the Gillings School of Global Public Health, the Eshelman School of Pharmacy and the UNC School of Dentistry.

Dean Corn, NASH and Liver Transplant Patient

Dean, a very appreciative liver transplant recipient, started his exhausting journey through a medical maze with a routine annual physical that identified a liver anomaly. A seemingly simple examination started a long journey, which he never could have imagined, leading to such a medical experience as a major organ transplant.

Roni Amiel, CEO, Fibronostics

Roni Amiel is currently the CEO at Fibronostics, a healthcare technology company dedicated to improving treatment screening, disease progression and prognosis of chronic metabolic disease states with a non-invasive, algorithmic diagnostics.

Previously he served as a Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Notal Vision, a position he held since 2017. He spearheaded a disruptive integrated technology cloud platform that uses artificial intelligence algorithms and applied analytics to detect and provide diagnostic decision support, driving at-home testing and patient-activated treatment with their providers.

He holds a Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics. Mr. Amiel has four patents spanning treatment decision, decision support and forecasting treatment decision in healthcare systems.

Rob Riccio, PhD, Vice President, Clinical Development, Hepatology and Gastroenterology (Americas), Syneos Health

Dr. Riccio leads the gastroenterology and hepatology therapeutic area for the Americas. With almost 30 years of leadership and management expertise in all phases of global pharmaceutical and medical device development, he has held various executive-level positions in pharma and global CROs. He has been instrumental in the leadership of clinical development programs resulting in the marketing approval of eight products in gastrointestinal and hepatic disease, osteoarthritis, women and men’s health, Parkinson’s disease and infectious disease, among others. He is a member of the Liver Forum and has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.

Alastair D. Smith, MB ChB, Executive Medical Director, Clinical Solutions, Syneos Health

Alastair Smith is committed to improving the outlook for patients who have incurable, progressive forms of chronic liver disease, with the goals of reducing development of end-stage liver disease and its complications, the need for liver transplantation and premature death rates in this group. Before joining Syneos Health in 2015, he was attending hepatologist at Duke University and medical director of liver transplantation there for more than eight years. Currently, Dr. Smith works in the Medical Management and Scientific Services group, striving to deliver outstanding medical monitoring services to clients and sites working in the liver disease space.