Meet the companies disrupting the world’s biggest killer

In this episode of Short Briefings on Long Term Thinking, Malcolm Borthwick interviews Rose Nguyen from Baillie Gifford's Health Innovation Fund about the progress in treating cardiovascular diseases. Rose explains the complexities of heart disease, which is influenced by multiple genes and environmental factors, making it difficult to cure with current generic medicines and invasive surgeries. She expresses optimism due to the convergence of sciences and technologies like gene sequencing, highlighting how advancements have deepened our understanding of the biology of heart diseases and enabled the development of more precise medicines. The discussion covers progress in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, featuring companies like a US company using AI for more accurate heart diagnoses, Shockwave Medical's innovative use of lithotripsy to break calcium in arteries, and Verve Therapeutics' gene editing treatments to lower the risk of heart attacks. Rose also shares her enthusiasm for health innovation, influenced by her family background in pharmacy and the accelerating pace of innovation in healthcare.