Jordan Lake, MD and Gilead?

Over time, the order of individuals on the scientific advisory board has shifted to better align with the company's focus. NASH/MASH takes precedence, followed by NASH/HIV, and then oncology. https://www.cytodyn.com/scientific-advisory-board

As many of us already know, Dr. Noureddin is a well-known and respected figure in the NASH field. He frequently speaks at meetings, is involved with numerous related organizations, and has even participated in an FDA discussion on the use of biomarkers for diagnosing and assessing treatment response in noncirrhotic NASH trials. https://www.fda.gov/media/172123/download

But who is Jordan Lake, MD? Her clinical interest, as evident from her bio, lies in HIV, but more specifically metabolic comorbidities in individuals living with HIV. She focuses on adipose tissue disturbances, including fatty liver disease, obesity, and dysfunctional fat. With that said, she will likely play a significant role in designing the trial for HIV/NASH, given her involvement in similar studies.

Check out this recent study on CT Fat Density accurately reflecting histologic fat quality in adults with HIV on and off antiretroviral therapy: https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/104/10/4857/5436996

Also, note that many of her recent studies have been sponsored by Gilead. They include her disclosure of serving as a consultant to Gilead Sciences and Merck, as well as receiving research support from Gilead Sciences.

In another recent study titled "A Randomized Clinical Trial of Transgender Women Switching to B/F/TAF: The (mo) BETTA Trial," financial support came from the National Institutes of Health and an investigator-initiated grant from Gilead Sciences. More details can be found here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10122488/

Dr. Lake's clinical interest extends to HIV in the transgender population, as evident in these articles: https://med.uth.edu/blog/2021/06/01/researchers-aim-to-modify-fragmented-health-care-system-to-reduce-hiv-incidence-among-trans-women/ and https://www.healio.com/news/infectious-disease/20200313/study-highlights-need-for-increased-awareness-of-cardiovascular-risk-in-transgender-women.

Again, she reports receiving a research grant from Gilead Sciences and emphasizes the importance of meeting the healthcare needs of transgender women, given their high estimated HIV prevalence.

While this is purely speculative, could our potential partnership have anything to do with Gilead considering her recent close ties and transgender being a subpopulation for HIV?

Just some things to chew on while we wait for further news.