In Part 1 we had a bit of an overview of the conference, Part 2 covers some fun stuff...what was it like schmoozing through the rooms...what surprises did I uncover out of the blue and what's this all about a quote that just summarises eloquently what we have and what we hold!?
Oh and look out for a couple of Mozz Stories....think you might like them!
Please now do enjoy.
I like gathering evidence when it comes to OA and iPPS. It's not just gathering evidence about the science though that's a big part of it....(wait till I post about the surprise..yeah that's a teaser for sure....I'm aiming to have that done in about two weeks from now)....Getting evidence and feedback from a broad range of sources is next level. From this conference I wanted to hear from top scientists and researchers dedicated to the pursuit of OA solutions....but even more importantly, I wanted to also hear from people that had never heard of our drug before, it's a clean slate and they can nitpick on the spot, there is a certain charm and different angle of doing this.
I met with a couple of recent PhD students that I managed to divert to our Theatre Presso. I was kinda acting like an usher, I reckon I managed to get about an extra 20 people into that theatre session, anyone that was passing by even remotely close to the door I would just say "Ah are you coming to the Paradigm Presentation? Please go straight through..." ...remember last year we had about 70...this year we doubled that number...I'm really looking forward to the 2026 OA conference, 2025 will be good...it's 2026 that could really drive some copious amounts of attention to us, I have a feeling that's going to be nutso big for us.
Anyway, back to these two guys...so they were waiting back after the theatre session toi find out more and just to chat to lil' ol' me about it, so I made some time and we found a room nearby and I spent just 30 minutes explaining the MOA at high level, they were stunned and actually said to me that from what I was saying it sounded like I already had a half PhD in it myself...those that know me well know that I am so not egotistic...I'm humble as...but I like the feedback. It's always good to know you are on the right track...well at least on a track!I was just impressed they stayed back...what was the reason I had to put them on hold and make them wait for me for about 20 mins or so?? I'll cover that in the next section...
Note: I will cover more on Par's theatre session in Part 3.
Mate, what a trip...this conference was so good, I gained so much from it....ok Remember Robbie1's (I call it famous) post on the 35th MPS Family conference?The highlights were the two speakers in that presentation but it was Dr Lilla Simonaro that stated just one fact that I can recall on demand...any time, anywhere in the world I will be able to tell you this story, if you ever meet me, just say "Mozz, Tell me about our molecule's wonderful action in the brain as evidenced by Dr L Simonaro":
Here is what happened and why I had to put the two new PhD students on hold for a full 20 mins..:
Remember, Dr Simonaro went through the results of Pentosan and it's amazing effects on IL-8 on the brains of canines (German Shepherds)...
Ok great Mozz...what at all has this to do with an OA conference? Why bring it up now?
Because not 3 minutes before Par's Theater presentation, I was introduced to her!
To who?
Yes, I met Dr Lilla Simonaro herself and she attended our theatre session!!
Mate...can I just repeat that for your viewing pleasure and understanding....I met the scientist that saw the raw effect of the drug and what it can do first hand....I recounted the below stat on IL-8 to her to make her aware that not only I know about it, but it is emblazoned in my brain, a fact that I will carry to the grave.
What the 'Heaven's to Betsy' am I talking about.....Im talking about how if I was an innocent bystander and I knew not of iPPS, I would imagine it could conceivable reduce IL8 by ohhhh I dunno 30% and I'd be a happy camper.
Mate my camp is literally exploding with delight....we did this:
Mate look at that Purple bar chart...that's YOUR iPPS at work.That above image gives you two things...
1) It drops IL-8 by a silly crazy good 90% ...yep that's Cerebral Spinal Fluid. Im telling you here and now, when whoever funds us realises what we can do, they are going to one day laugh all the way to the bank. There simply is no drug that has this capability and do it safely.
I don't often go to many VIP clubs, when I do, it's special...it's unique...I have had a simple (but good!) upbringing...I'm still 9 to 5...I don't own a business...but let me just say...I feel like a SUPER VIP here and now cos I know something the entire market has no clue about...what this drug can do. (Could be deemed to be a spec statement, not advice). How many people in the world know what PPS is...what iPPS is and what the potential is...how many know the real live examples of patients undergoing miracles because of this drug. To have OA pain vanish or heavily or even moderately reduce (circa 88%) is remarkable.
Yeah if I had some terrible brain inflammation I know what I'd be trying. 90% reduction?
Mate.
2) That image above shows you what time stamp to go to if you have not seen this video, this is one you should be watching if you are a committed shareholder, forget that new series you have discovered on Netflix....watch those shows after you have seen the above video...its insightful. (See Ref below). Oh and thanks again @Robbie1 I very much doubt I would've come across it those years ago if you hadn't posted it originally.
Now I know some of you are reading this and have that funny look on your faces thinking this Mozz guy is some sort of choice nut. Why does he get so excited to meet these ppl?
I'll tell you why...because I look them in the eye, I get their genuine statements, they tell me their stories and experiences and it is the purest form of exemplarily evidence that fills me with pride.
I am a shareholder.....no wait...better than that..I'm an owner of this company. This is my company, yes I invested my hard earned money at a price that maybe wasn't the fairest price.....at the time...but I can see where this is going (not advice)....I'm here for the long term. Sure, I'll listen to negatives, we want that to keep us safe.
No not passive... I am active. If I can help the company in some way I will. Why? Because I, you...and other shareholders...we own the company. I want to be across this. I need to be across this.
But I own a drug that is going to (in my opinion blah blah not advice) change the world for the better. We are going to relieve that many ailments and pain...and give people the ability to gain back at least some function...we are going to allow thousands and thousands to sleep better at night..to reduce inflammation and be less reliant on other nasty drugs if this thing works out.
I spoke to Dr Simonaro and she said there is such an acute need from the poor MPS suffering patient, she told me of her thoughts and I could see the real pained expression on her face. She told me about the patients and their families and how desperate they are for a legit solution. I sympathised and emphasized genuinely with her and said one day it will happen.
Look I'm a mere mortal, but once we have a legit global partner, the company will definitely focus on such indications if it hasn't been done already. This program (MPS & Lysosomal indications) will come to a fruition one day for sure, we may just get surprised about it in an ASX ann. one fine day.
This was a truly amazing fairy tale kinda encounter. I never dreamed I'd meet her.
Gee, you thought that was Mozz mind blowing (well err...for me it was)....wait till you read the next chapter:
It's not too often I have an entire sub heading dedicated to just one quote.
I simply can't say who said this, but the person that did has more than 900 peer reviews....if you have more than 15 you are doing pretty good !
More than that perhaps is the number of citations, Again, if you have a few thousand, you are up with the best of them. This particular fellow has more than 148,000.I make a few typos here and there, that wasn't one of them!
Can you just allow me to type that one more time, it kinda just nicely rolls off the keyboard:
148,000 citations.
Now you know me...I'm no great guy, I'm a humble mouse that doesn't even have a Masters Degree in Science....but you get me going on PAR, I will stop at no one and nothing...you can be a patient...you can be a cleaner in the lab that does the work for a CRO that does the work for PAR...you can be the head of some of our beautiful companies that PAR deal with....and you can be top of the game. It will not stop me from talking to you...asking your thoughts and opinions about iPPS.
So, I did just that, I luckily had a window of opportunity...let me explain it in Mozz Story® format...maybe grab a coffee...a coke...or a glass of orange and lemon infused waters (I had a couple of these at two of the airports en route, ppl were drinking up, and while I did have my fair share of beers...there were times where it was the water that I wanted and needed...but let's get to this story.
Imagine... a room full of hundreds and hundreds of ppl at OARSI 2024, perhaps at this particular session there was a crowd of about 700 strong....I was sitting right at the edge of a particular row of seats.Someone sat down behind me and on one occasion accidentally bumped the back leg of my chair, it wasn't a rough bump...it didn't startle me, it happens, I shrugged it off I'm a patient sorta guy...I didn't bother turning around to see who it was...I'll get to why I'm mentioning this in a sec...let me set up the scene a bit more for you first...
So I was sitting prob a third way to the front of this giant room and I happened to have one of two microphones just close to me in the aisle (the other being more at the back of this great hall)....so in question time a couple of members of the audience could come up, line up in front of one of two microphones and ask their questions of the speaker at the end of their talk/presentation.So at the end of this particular session a guy walked up to the speaker, I did a double take and realised who it was...it was 148K citation man....what? No way....he asked his questions and my eyes were locked on him, I explained this later to a pal that knows even less of science than I do!!! I told him, buddy, this is like seeing Tay Tay Swift at a Council meeting of the Grammy Awards...my eyes were locked on him.
Eyes glued! (I'm not a follower but what an audience and influence on GDP she commands).
But here's the interesting part...I followed this guy and he comes closer to me after he has finished asking his question and receiving his answer...yeah my heart rate starts to shift upwards....why is he approaching me? Out of all the ppl in the room, why cant he just go back to where he was sitting somewhere many rows behind me? Had I done something wrong? Was I in trouble?
Turns out the reason he was getting so close to me was due to the simple fact that he was sitting DIRECTLY BEHIND ME!
What?
What were the chances firstly...Then my Mozz brain started connecting the dots...
Mozz joining the dots, slowly at first....
Mozz mate, possibly one of the most famous people in the industry world-wide is randomly sitting within mere centimetres of you. How long will he be sitting there, will he quickly sneak out? What can I do to secure this situation, should I turn around in the middle of someone's presso and whisper my question to him? Should I half turn and whisper to him that I have a question for later?
One of the dots I was connecting to was the question : What do you want to ask him, out of all the potential myriad of questions, what's THE SINGLE question you could have with Taylor Swift at a music concert?
While these dots were getting slowly connected in my head I was doing three things simultaneously
I was slowly and carefully reaching into my bag next to me to pull out my trusty pre prepared yellow (Yellow cos its bright, like our evidence, like gold itself) folder of MRIs and Patents and choice PAR publications (announcements)....so I was ready to...POUNCE...and:
I was literally praying that this guy didn't move and stayed seated right until the final question was asked and the session was over....and:
I was pulling out my phone to text Man from The West as I was quietly exploding...
I texted: "HE IS SITTING BEHIND ME" <FAAAaaa....k expletives>
(I never got an immediate response from Man From the West cos he would've been fast asleep, it was middle of the night for him). (If he would've been up, and wake, he would've said "Mozz, go &*%$#@) talk to him, it's your chance of a lifetime").
I hoped and prayed he wouldn't sneak off before the end of the current presso as it's just too hard to find him randomly in such vast crowds and then get time with him, this was my one opportunity!
Then he accidentally nudged the leg of my chair again...it's at this point I thought that this is a definite sign for me...it was the boost of confidence I needed (remember, I am not qualified in Science...I'm at this purely medical/sci conference, prob the only fish out of water...and I'm about to borach the head of the department...the possible joint head of the entire OA spectrum of Sci, I needed a kick, literally). That was my literal kick...and I knew this was some sorta sign that I gotta talk to this guy.
Well, it worked out for me!
He got up at the same time I turned around and I said his name, he didn't hear me, I wasn't perturbed, I want giving up so soon....I said his name louder and he heard me and said Hi...
I realised that I didn't have a lot of time so I quickly showed him some MRIs and he asked me what is this in relation to, I told him Pentosan...he had a decent look at the 'before' and 'after' images and then he queried me what I wanted?Oh I just said that I wanted to get his opinion on what he thought of Pentosan and the efficacy it was showing in the OA realm....
He kept it short and just said this one quote....these are the exact words, no less, no more:
"I think it's a promising therapy".
He saw my reaction to that statement, both the distinct sparkle in my wide eyes and the warm smile from mouth corner to mouth corner that I just couldn't hold back after hearing those few but wonderful words.... and he realised that he had been a touch harsh, almost gruff-like in asking why I was pursuing him, he promptly smiled back, patted me on my back and said, "All the best".
That there made my conference.
Speaking of Taylor like fame, Oh go on, how about another quick Mozz story® involving a different KOL, again can't mention her name...but we had a reception on one of the nights in the Poster Hall and I met her and showed her some updates on the MRIs and even mentioned a couple of recent PAR announcements revolving around 008, we discussed some of the 008 data and lets just say she was very receptive of it.
There was "No Mozz bad luck you are on a difficult course... No Mozz, it's got a few problems... No Mozz you are wasting your time! No Mozz there are much better competitors... Oh no Mozz, there are really good and close candidates hot on ya heals! No No mozz, please stop dreaming!"
I said to her, full disclosure I am a holder of PAR....she was so gracious and said "Well I hope it works out for you and the company".Just talking to her made my week. To have her entertain someone that has NO science degree and yet takes on what she is seeing with seriousness and a genuine interest humbles me no end.
This KOL will always always be part of my inspiration to strive to learn more about what I do think is one of the best molecules discovered to date. It's a big statement...but it's an equally efficacious drug without the AE's.
Yeah I get it...great to have the Peer guys and gals endorsing us...fabulous to have the feedback...but isn't this the cart before the horse...we need the FINANCE...we need the engine first...ie the horse first...
There are signs that if we get through the upcoming milestones...this is going to be a not so difficult and higher-chance-of-non-dilutive funding pathways that will present itself...
How do I know this...well really though what the scientific community are saying about our drug and what the competition are, compared to us....
Through the addressing of the two halves...the symptomatic relief and the addressing STRUCTURALLY, we are already making some positive waves, the authorities will see us in the same light.
Yes they still need to sanction it all, they may have questions that may take a bit more time...but at the end of the day, the FDA are guided not by the funding....they are guided by TWO distinct things...
1) THE EFFICACY
2) THE SAFETY
These are the major components. Subcomponents will consist of the additional, like DMOAD observations and Duration aspects...but those two points above is what we are being tested on...
At OARSI 2024 I kept my eye out on other upcoming drugs, what they have..what the claim...how they work. I didn't find anything over the entire 4 days of the conference of a drug that comes remotely close....nothing that gives the symptomatic and structural sightings that we have seen in 008 and 005. Forget 008 and 005, there is no drug out there that has simply seen the reduction in synovitis, most aren't even recording their effect on the synovial membrane. What is the authority going to think of the data that we JUST submitted a week ago? Oh to be a MOZZIE fly on the wall at FDA HQ!
PAR did a fabulous job at Oarsi 2024...more on that in Part 3.
That concludes Part 2....In Part 3 we cover more from PAR's angle...what did they present, how did it go, what were the reactions?
(20min delay)
