ISSUE 01 – APRIL/2011 Focus – page 12 INNOVATION IN LATIN AMERICA Interview – page 4 Dr. Almino Ramos is our guest to talk about technology at the service of health Opinion – page 16 Three professionals share their impressions about the first anniversary of Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute Health On Target – page 28 Veridex invests in next generation of tests for Circulating Tumor Cells [EDITORIAL] Get to Know Johnson & Johnson * Medical Innovation Institute In 2010, Johnson & Johnson Medical companies in Latin America took a very important step in their history with the launch of Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute*, in São Paulo, Brazil, to provide services to all countries in Latin America. From the moment the project was approved to the beginning of activities, only 11 months went by — the time to turn the dream into reality and open a facility that is considered a key element in our strategies to improve healthcare throughout the region, according to Antonio Ferreira, Johnson & Johnson Medical Regional vice-president for Latin America. In line with Our Credo1 at Johnson & Johnson, the Institute was born a year ago with the mission of promoting continuous advances in the quality of healthcare, offering physicians, nurses, technicians, public managers, hospital administrators and healthcare plans the most modern training in equipment and medical and diagnostic procedures. We believe we are not only responsible for delivering high quality products and services but also for helping healthcare professionals make the best use of them. 1 “Our Credo” is a chart of principles wrote in 1943, by Robert Wood Johnson. Nowadays, his philosophy is taught and followed by Johnson & Johnson worldwide. * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. 2 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE To celebrate the first anniversary of Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute*, we are launching INNOVATE, an electronic magazine directed to our internal and external partners. The first issue brings a special cover story about the Institute’s inception. In the section Interview, a chat with dr. Almino Ramos, from Gastro Obeso Center clinic, highlights the importance of the Institute for the medical community. Three other renowned specialists – dr. Gilberto Barbosa, from UFRGS, nurse Janete Akamine, from SOBECC, and dr. Claudio Bresciani, from USP and Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz – are featured in the section Opinion, with articles that discuss the impact of professional education in health. I invite you to learn more about Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* from the perspective of those who have been participating in it actively in their day-to-day activities. Enjoy your reading! George Marques Filho Director of Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 3 [INTERVIEW] TECHNOLOGY AT THE SERVICE OF HEALTH In its first year of activity, Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* promoted important advances in the training of healthcare professionals in Latin America. According to the industry specialists, its structure is comparable to the best training centers in the world and its courses are very well-evaluated by physicians of different specialties. In this interview with INNOVATE, dr. Almino Ramos – gastroenterologist, general clinician and director of Gastro Obeso Center – talks about the benefits that Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* provides to the medical community throughout Latin America, highlights the importance of investing in technology for more efficient courses and shares his experiences in coordinating surgical trainings. * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. 4 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 5 [INTERVIEW] INNOVATE – What has the Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* initiative represented for the medical community, both for experienced physicians and medicine students? Dr. Almino Ramos – It surely represents a major advance that will certainly have an important role in surgical training in Brazil and Latin America. Experienced surgeons need enhancement in new products and techniques, and your surgeons and residents will improve their learning. It is important to highlight that, until the opening of Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute*, the region did not have a training center at the level of the best international centers. INNOVATE – What are the key benefits the Institute provides in terms of concepts, structure and technology? Dr. Almino – The major benefit is to offer a modern, advanced structure. Spaces adapt to several needs, such as theoretical courses, with the possibility of establishing conference calls to any part of the world, and practice in simulators that can reach different levels of difficulty. * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. 6 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE “JOHNSON & JOHNSON MEDICAL * INNOVATION INSTITUTE REPRESENTS THE GREATEST ADVANCE IN SURGICAL TRAINING IN THE PAST 20 YEARS.” * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 7 [INTERVIEW] “WE HAVE A TRADITION IN TRAINING AND NOW, WITH JOHNSON & JOHNSON MEDICAL * INNOVATION INSTITUTE , RESULTS WILL BE EFFICIENT FOR EVERYONE.” * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. 8 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE INNOVATE – You already have coordinated the bariatric surgery course throughout Brazil, Mexico and for residents in Latin America (BILA). Tell us about your experience. Dr. Almino – When I heard the courses would be here I was a little apprehensive about the responsibility of giving continuity to courses with such tradition, offered by the Institute of Cincinnati (in Ohio in the U.S.). However, the experience was very gratifying since I realized we could offer courses in Brazil with the same structure and quality offered abroad. INNOVATE – What was the greatest news that you saw for your medical specialty, presented by Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute*? Dr. Almino – We had lots of good news. However, I believe the best was the use of simulators for training because the sensation that the surgeons have when handling this equipment is very close to what will happen in their day-to-day practice. * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 9 [INTERVIEW] INNOVATE – What is the future of minimally invasive surgery in your opinion? Dr. Almino – Minimally invasive surgery represents the future of surgery. We will increasingly offer less aggressive methods, with excellent results and greatly facilitating our patients’ recovery. INNOVATE – How did you get invited to participate in the events of Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute*? Dr. Almino – My partnership with Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* was the natural consequence of a relationship with Ethicon Endo-Surgery2: the first bariatric surgery course was held in 2001 and the first metabolic surgery course in 2005. In this period, my team and I trained groups from almost all countries in Latin America, Portugal, Spain, India, Austria and the Philippines, in addition to groups coming from several places in Brazil. We have a tradition in training and now that we can count on the Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* infrastructure and partnership, the results will be more efficient for everyone. 2 Ethicon Endo-Surgery is a business unit of Johnson & Johnson Medical Brazil, a division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para a Saúde Ltda. * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. 10 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE INNOVATE – This kind of partnership promotes advances in medicine or transformations in the health industry. How can they be established? Dr. Almino – There are huge advances and, quite often, they take place sooner than expected. The best example of this is the change accomplished with regard to laparoscopic and open bariatric surgery. With suitable training for surgical teams using video laparoscopy, most procedures are now performed with the abdomen closed. In this manner, we provided major benefits to the population, with a less aggressive technology, a less painful postoperative period and faster recovery. INNOVATE – What is the value of Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* for the Latin America reality? Dr. Almino – Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* represents the greatest advance in surgical training in the past 20 years, helping surgeons with technologies we did not have access to before. The society benefits when it can count on the best physicians and treatments. The Institute has the same expertise and the same quality facilities you can find in Cincinnati, U.S., or Hamburg, Germany. * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 11 [FOCUS] INNOVATION IN LATIN AMERICA PLANS FOR THE INSTALLATION OF AN INSTITUTE SIMILAR TO THE MORE THAN 20 TRAINING CENTERS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE WORLD STARTED BACK IN THE 1990s. THIS SPACE SHOULD MEET THE NEEDS OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS IN LATIN AMERICA AS WELL AS ITS TEACHING INSTITUTIONS. 12 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 13 [FOCUS] From project inception, going through legal and financial approvals, only 11 months were necessary for Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* to be opened on February 1st, 2010, in São Paulo, Brazil. Although the Institute’s building process was quite fast, all details were addressed very carefully, always having as our pillar high quality professional training for the benefit of the population. Regina Navarro, president of Johnson & Johnson Medical Brazil*, explains that the Institute represents an important advance since it is the only one of its nature among Johnson & Johnson Medical companies in Latin America to offer an encompassing portfolio of training programs, focused on medical devices and diagnostic solutions. “The key purpose of this Institute is to promote the development of health in Brazil and in the whole of Latin America”, Regina says. Professional Education, in which Johnson & Johnson Medical companies in Latin America invest so much, has two main pillars: the first encompasses learning and use of products marketed by Johnson & Johnson Medical Brazil* medical units and the second promotes basic learning in any surgical technique that the use of such products may require. * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. 14 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE FIRST YEAR The proposal of Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* has always been to gather, in a single environment, state-of-the-art infrastructure and technology which could offer healthcare professionals in Latin America the most modern training in medical equipment and diagnostic procedures. George Marques Filho, director of Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute*, says that a year after the Institute’s opening, the results and evaluation exceeded all expectations. Approximately three thousand professionals (including physicians, nurses, technicians, public managers, hospital administrators and healthcare plans) and also hundreds of employees of Johnson & Johnson Medical companies in Latin America visited the Institute. Another major accomplishment is a reason of pride for Johnson & Johnson: important partnerships were established in the past year with universities, hospitals and medical entities, strengthening the Institute’s image as a serious institution prepared for building professional capacity at all levels – from students to experienced physicians. “These innovations enabled Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* to positively contribute to a changein the parameters of Professional Education in Latin America”, George concludes. * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 15 [OPINION] PHYSICIANS CELEBRATE THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY JOHNSON & JOHNSON MEDICAL INNOVATION * INSTITUTE BY PROFESSOR DOCTOR GILBERTO V. BARBOSA Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery of the Medicine School of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul PhD in Surgery by UFRGS Member of the Clinical Staff of Hospital das Clínicas of Porto Alegre Former President of the Brazilian Society of Cardiovascular Surgery * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. 16 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 17 [OPINION] “MEDICINE INCORPORATES PROCEDURES THAT DEMAND SPECIAL SKILLS TO BE FULLY MASTERED.” 18 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE Surgical actions trained using powerful simulators or animals provide professionals the expertise that can decrease their learning curve in surgical procedures. An institution like Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute*, with its leading objective to offer conditions for professional training, is highly relevant for Latin America. The benefits for our medical community are immeasurable. We have in our hands the privilege of testing state-of-the-art surgical products in laboratories furnished with equipment for procedures of multiple complexities. Concomitant to practical training, the Institute provides courses for cognitive understanding of medical science in auditoriums equipped with the most modern audiovisual methods. Medicine incorporates procedures that demand special skills to be fully mastered. Along their career, physicians go through constant update processes. Undergraduate students, long-time professionals, resident physicians and professionals taking graduate programs find in Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* a rare and important route, which helps in the qualification of their daily practice. The Brazilian Society of Cardiovascular Surgery was the first institution to propose a partnership for scientific and technological cooperation with Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute*. In the next five years, we plan to train 300 surgeons in the most diverse areas of specialty and develop the research projects of our members. As a cardiovascular surgeon, I think the Institute is, undoubtedly, the most efficient way to provide our surgeons opportunities to get better. Physicians feel capable of providing more qualified care to the Brazilian population. For this reason, we believe that its inception and installation in our country was the greatest contribution of a company to build the capacity of Brazilian medical professionals in recent years. * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 19 [OPINION] KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY ON BEHALF OF THE PATIENT BY NURSE JANETE AKAMINE President of Brazilian Society of Nurses in Operating Rooms, Anesthetic Recovery and Material and Sterilization Center (SOBECC) Nurse at Hospital Vitória The development of healthcare professionals requires evidence-based practice. With Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute*, the medical community could count on a space in which learning takes place by means of practice that is very close to reality. The Institute team has major talents, who challenge professionals with teaching, research and development of high level projects. Surgical techniques allied to technology – such as robotics, neuro navigation and minimally invasive surgeries – benefit results and diagnoses. The evolution of medical sciences, accompanied by quality and safety, qualifies hospital practices. We, healthcare professionals, have to update ourselves at the same pace and learn how to deal with technology without losing the human essence of care. * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. 20 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 21 [OPINION] “WE, HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS, HAVE TO UPDATE OURSELVES AT THE SAME PACE AND LEARN HOW TO DEAL WITH TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT LOSING THE HUMAN ESSENCE OF CARE.” 22 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE Nursing studies follow the same paths of other areas in healthcare. Universities qualify specialists, masters and PhDs. Nevertheless, it is with practice that we acquire expertise and the Institute has come to complement our training. Associations Partnerships should be created and added for professional enhancement. We consolidate knowledge from the moment we associate it to skills and possibilities. promote seminars, courses and symposiums, and professionals from São Paulo have major possibilities for enhancement. However, this reality is not observed in other regions and we are right now reflecting about how we can contribute to the ideal development of these professionals. We can find just one answer: through partnership based on the dream of better health. Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* was born from a dream, to be idealized and shared. The Institute structure is unique and innovative and develops skilled professionals who are confident about their practices. * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 23 [OPINION] 24 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF RENEWAL FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS BY PROFESSOR DOUTOR CLÁUDIO BRESCIANI Associate Professor of Digestive System Surgery of the Medicine School of USP and Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz It would not be an exaggeration to say that Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute* facilities in São Paulo were a gift for the medical community of Latin America and, mostly, for Brazilians. Our region still suffers from the absence of training centers exclusively organized to enhance the work of healthcare professionals. * A division of Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Produtos para Saúde Ltda. ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 25 [OPINIÃO] [OPINION] “MEDICAL SERVICES TO THE POPULATION ARE VISIBLY BETTER WHEN PROFESSIONALS ARE PREVIOUSLY TRAINED.” 26 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE Among so many benefits, I would highlight training in new surgical methods and laboratory equipment. Medical services to the population are visibly better when professionals are previously trained. Medicine is a dynamic science and we have witnessed how fast new techniques and equipment have been created, particularly in the last decade. It would be incorrect to say that all treatments will be useful for physicians in their day-to-day practice but familiarity with them and training are a must. Even the most experienced surgeons have to return many times to the laboratories during their career in search of updated training. Thus, the Institute’s modern structure and specially trained teams from business units play an important role in the application of knowledge. The Institute also has become a key resource for medical students. The cost of training centers is very high for Brazilian teaching institutions. Partnerships between universities and the private sector have become essential. The basic guidelines of medical training in the country call for professionals who are aware of the importance of medical and, mainly, social inclusion, rationalizing costs and choosing appropriate surgical or clinical treatment processes. ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 27 [HEALTH ON TARGET] VERIDEX, LLC, ANNOUNCES COLLABORATION WITH MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL TO DEVELOP NEXT GENERATION TECHNOLOGY FOR CIRCULATING TUMOR CELLS IN THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, THE HEALTH-SPECIALIZED PRESS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD ANNOUNCED NEWS IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF CANCER: AMERICAN SCIENTISTS AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY AND MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL (IN THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.), IN PARTNERSHIP WITH JOHNSON & JOHNSON MEDICAL, DEVELOPED A TEST THAT CAN IDENTIFY A SINGLE CANCEROUS CELL IN THE BLOOD. 28 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE Veridex, LLC3, announced, in January 2011, its collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital to develop and market the next-generation technology in Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC) to capture, count and characterize tumor cells found in patients’ blood. The partnership will involve Ortho Biotech Oncology Research & Development (ORD), a unit that belongs to Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development. Studies will focus on the development of a next-generation system that will enable oncologists to use CTCs as a diagnostic tool to customize patient care as well as by researchers to accelerate and enhance the process to discover and develop new drugs. 3V eridex, LLC, a Johnson & Johnson company, is an organization dedicated to providing physicians with high-value diagnostic oncology products. Veridex’s IVD products may significantly benefit patients by helping physicians make more informed decisions that enable better patient care. Veridex’s Clinical Research Solutions provide tools and services that may be used for the selection, identification and enumeration of targeted rare cells in peripheral blood for the identification of biomarkers, aiding scientists in their search for new targeted therapies. ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 29 [HEALTH ON TARGET] “THE CHALLENGING GOAL OF SORTING EXTREMELY RARE CIRCULATING TUMOR CELLS FROM BLOOD REQUIRES CONTINUOUS TECHNOLOGICAL, BIOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL INNOVATION.” 30 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE The collaboration will rely on the collective scientific, technical, clinical and commercial expertise between the partners: Massachusetts General Hospital’s experience in clinical research and novel CTC technologies; the experience of Veridex as the only diagnostics company to have brought CTC technology to the U.S. market as an FDA-cleared in vitro diagnostic (IVD) assay for capturing and counting the number of tumor cells in the blood to help inform patients and their physicians about prognosis and overall survival in certain types of metastatic cancers; and ORD’s expertise in oncology therapeutics, biomarkers and companion diagnostics. “This new technology has the potential to facilitate an easy-toadminister, non-invasive blood test that would allow us to count tumor cells”, and to characterize the biology of the cells,” said Robert McCormack, head of Technology Innovation and Strategy, Veridex. “Harnessing the information contained in these cells in an in vitro clinical setting could enable tools to help select treatment and monitor how patients are responding”. “The role of CTCs in drug discovery and development is growing as new technologies allow us to use CTCs for the first time as templates for novel DNA, RNA and protein biomarkers”, said Nicholas Dracopoli, vice president, biomarkers, ORD. “Given the demand for actionable data to guide personalized medicine for patients with cancer, there is a rapidly growing need for advanced, automated non-invasive technologies that can aid in selection of treatment and monitor response throughout the course of their disease”. ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 31 [HEALTH ON TARGET] “The challenging goal of sorting extremely rare Circulating Tumor Cells from blood requires continuous technological, biological and clinical innovation to fully explore the utility of these precious cells in clinical oncology”, said Mehmet Toner, Ph.D., director of the BioMicroElectroMechanical Systems Resource Center in the MGH Center for Engineering in Medicine. “We have developed and continue to develop a broad range of technologies that are evolving what we know about cancer and cancer care. This collaboration is an opportunity to apply our past learning to the advancement of a platform that will ultimately benefit patients with cancer”. The platform to be developed will be a bench-top system to specifically isolate and explore the biology of rare cells at the protein, RNA and DNA levels. Clinical validation and regulatory submissions for future diagnostic applications of this new technology will be guided by Veridex. Veridex launched the first commercial CTC test in 2004 and has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to advancing innovation in CTC testing and expanding the utility of CTCs as an IVD tool in clinical oncology practice. 32 - INNOVATE MAGAZINE In the research setting, Veridex’s Clinical Research Solutions group works with partner companies to offer technology and expertise in rare cells for R&D efforts that aim to develop more targeted and effective therapies in cancer and other diseases. Ortho Biotech Oncology Research & Development, a unit of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, is a research and development organization that strives to transform cancer to a preventable, chronic or curable disease by delivering extraordinary and accessible diagnostic and therapeutic solutions that prolong and improve patients’ lives. Building on its successful development and evolution of CTC technology, as well as contributions to the body of science in the CTC field, Massachusetts General Hospital aims to revolutionize how oncologists detect, monitor and potentially treat cancers. ABOUT CIRCULATING TUMOR CELLS Circulating tumor cells are cancer cells that have detached from the tumor and are found at extremely low levels in the bloodstream. The value of capturing and counting CTCs is evolving as more research data is gathered about the utility of these markers in monitoring disease progression and potentially guiding personalized cancer therapy. ISSUE 01 | APRIL/2011 - 33 Technical crew | INNOVATE is an electronic newsletter produced by Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute, directed to healthcare professionals and Johnson & Johnson Medical employees. The texts published here do not necessarily reflect the corporation’s opinion and are responsibility of their authors. Contact us. Send your critics and suggestions to [email protected]. Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute Director: George Marques Filho | Editorial coordination: Luciana Leite and Marcos Fujihara | Editorial Board: George Marques Filho, Marcos Fujihara, Luciana Leite, Camila Cavicchioli | Approval: Legal, Copy Review, Johnson & Johnson Medical Innovation Institute and Communication departments | Editorial production: Renata Santos (writing) and Rejane Carvalho (editing – MTB 46024) | Pictures: personal files | Graphic design: fmcom