network, the part of the brain used to pursue long-term goals. Associate Dean for Neurosciences Initiatives and Interim Director of the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion at the University of California San Diego Dr. William Mobley believes it is important to practice “skillful empathy.” This includes the ability to resonate with the feelings of others but not to lose sight of the fact that it is the other that is suffering. It allows us to fully appreciate the suffering of the other without confusing the other with the self since fully “sharing” another’s suffering may cause pain to the empathizer and lead to a desire to disconnect from the sufferer. Skillful empathy would allow us to be truly compassionate. More research is being done in this burgeoning field of the neuroscience of empathy and the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion at the University of California San Diego is at the forefront of it, employing scientific rigor to establish the neurological basis of empathy and develop new ways to instill empathy and compassion in health care professionals. What is evident now is that the tools of neuroscience are helping clarify the truth central to so many teachings around the world. We are capable of feeling another’s emotions and possess the skills to think critically about how we treat them. Our ability to empathize can pave the way for compassion, thus enabling our brains to observe the Golden Rule. Jason Kolbert, Executive Managing Director, Dawson James When looking to treat a complex disease, such as COVID-19, which involves multiple systems in the human body, one must have the tools to evaluate each patient as an individual, as well as understand the stage of the disease and the immune status of the patient, according to Dr. Henry Ji, chairman of the board and CEO of Sorrento Therapeutics. Doing so, Dr. Ji said, will impact the therapeutic approach, which may range from preventive therapies, monitoring diagnostics that move beyond binary diagnostics (yes – positive, no – negative but what, where and how much), acute intervention (arrest and control), and later stage rescue therapies (reverse and repair). With these concepts in mind, Sorrento Therapeutics is approaching the development of solutions for COVID-19. Sorrento is leveraging its understanding of the activated immune pathways and their subsequent interactions with organ systems by understanding the fingerprints associated with biochemical markers at various stages of the disease. Sorrento’s approach begins with COVI-STIX, a rapid antigen detection system to reveal the incidence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This quick test (two to five minutes) determines the presence of viral antigens, with a high degree of specificity and accuracy. If a patient is positive and in the early stages of infection, Sorrento believes that the administration of a neutralizing antibody that can bind to the virus, arrest replication and signal the body’s immune system to prevent further damage and eliminate the infectivity of the virus (so that the patient cannot transmit the virus to others). Sorrento is evaluating this approach with three distinct modes of administration: intravenous drip, intravenous push and nasal drops. Each approach has certain nuances and, as such, allows the treatment to be tailored based on the patient’s immune status as a result of viral exposure. The Treatment of COVID-19 Requires Understanding Immune Status – Prevention, Arresting Progression, and Reversal
Intravenous infusion is a slow and gradual introduction that can be adjusted over time based on the patient’s changing immune status. Rapid intravenous push (two to five minutes) allows a defined dose to be rapidly administered. Intranasal drops block virus replication in the cells of the nose’s epithelial layer, thus preventing it from entering and spreading to the lungs. Sorrento is even working on a novel way to prevent infection and transmission of the virus through the use of DNA plasmids. The encoded plasmid (genetic material) is directly introduced into the patient’s muscle cells. These cells then learn how to express a neutralizing antibody to the target viral mutant strain(s). Such treatments can also be based on multiple antibodies, which will allow a patient’s body to express neutralizing antibodies that block multiple variants. We can see how this approach, an armamentarium of physician options, allows the treatment of patients across the disease continuum associated with COVID-19. For example, if a patient is already infected and develops the disease in a mild to moderate form, they could be tested as an outpatient via rapid home antigen testing and then referred via telemedicine for Sorrento’s intranasal agent or intravenous push treatment.
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