Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This is the Good
Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Yuan Godfrey.
SPEAKER_01 (00:12):
Good morning.
Welcome to the Good NeighborPodcast.
Today I have the distinctpleasure of introducing to our
listeners Dr.
Anand Copti.
He has a PhD in physics, and heis here to share with us
information about SynergyMedical Devices.
He is the founder and CEO ofSynergy Medical Devices
(00:33):
Incorporated, and we are eagerand interested in listening to
the service that he brings tothe North Shore community.
Dr.
Anand, how are you this morning?
SPEAKER_02 (00:45):
Very good, thank
you.
How are you?
SPEAKER_01 (00:48):
Wonderful.
I'm good, thank you, and thanksfor asking.
Can you please tell ourlisteners about your company?
SPEAKER_02 (00:56):
Great.
So our company is Synergy Med isa medical device startup company
that is developing a product totreat solid cancer tumors for
human for humans and forveterinarians.
The company at the moment hasdeveloped a product that is
performing clinical trials ondogs at Ohio State University.
(01:20):
And we're hoping to sell thisdevice initially this year for
the veteran market.
And following that, we'll startour clinical trials for humans
and eventually selling it forthe human market.
Our main focus for the humanside of things is breast cancer.
SPEAKER_01 (01:42):
And what's the
backstory?
How did you get into thisservice, Dr.
Copti?
SPEAKER_02 (01:49):
So it's a startup.
I was basically an employee atIntel, Intel Corporation, you
know, the company that makesthese chips for the computers.
I was there for uh 10 years, andtowards the end of my work
there, the last two years, Ibasically lost a few friends
(02:10):
from cancer.
And you know, having abackground in physics and having
uh you know worked at uh Harvarduh medical school in the past
and other places where Ideveloped uh medical
technologies, I decided to to dosomething that makes more
meaning to my life.
(02:32):
So at Intel, I had a secure job,I uh but I was uh I was one in a
hundred thousand employee.
Uh so I wanted to have uh aninfluence, I wanted to make a
difference in the world, andthat's when I started thinking
about doing something forcancer.
So, like everybody else, assomeone who's uh you know with a
(02:56):
background in physics, what youwould do is start uh reviewing
papers and looking at theproblem from a technical point
of view.
So I started reading lots andlots of papers, and and then I
noticed that one of the mainproblems with cancer treatments
is that it has side effects.
Sometimes it treats not only thecancer tissue or the cancer
(03:20):
cells, but the healthy ones aswell.
So um so I was trying to thinkabout something that treats only
the cancer tumor, does not leaveany cosmetic uh damage, does not
uh basically degrade the qualityof life for patients.
And that's when I started uhworking about our non-invasive
(03:44):
technology to treat solid cancertumors.
So uh what probablydifferentiates our technology
from other uh uh othertechnologies or other companies
is that it's a non-invasivetechnology, it treats tumors
locally, so the tumor isdamaged, but the healthy tissue
(04:05):
remains intact.
Um, so far we've tested this onmice and dogs, and we hope to
test it on humans as well.
SPEAKER_01 (04:16):
I appreciate you
walking us through that journey
from losing friends andcolleagues to cancer to where
you are now.
Thank you for sharing that.
SPEAKER_02 (04:26):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (04:27):
So, what are some
myths or misconceptions that
you've discovered in thisjourney?
SPEAKER_02 (04:34):
So, I think one of
the main uh misconceptions about
cancer treatment, you know,there a lot of people uh say
things like, well, they shouldhave known how to treat cancer
by now.
There's probably some kind of aconspiracy conspiracy theory
that you know the pharmacompanies don't know what uh
don't want us to know about,they want to sell their own
(04:57):
products.
You know, I'm not sure thatthere is a conspiracy theory or
not, but what I do know is thatcancer is a very complicated
disease to treat.
So a lot of a lot of the bestpeople in the world are working
towards finding a treatment forcancer or cure for cancer.
So I I don't want to use youknow terms like uh conspiracy
(05:19):
because it does disservice forpeople like that.
Maybe also from a religiouspoint of view, uh, you know, God
created us in a very complex uhway.
So uh so to simplify things isbasically undermining uh the way
we've been created.
So I I feel that you know weshould be careful about you know
(05:43):
using statements like conspiracyand things like that.
What I uh wanted to point out interms of our product, it's
basically intended to treatcancer tumors locally.
So it's not intended for cancerthat has metastasized throughout
the body, it's more like tumorsthat are at the initial stage,
(06:05):
and instead of treating themsurgically, where you would have
to remove the tumor andsometimes parts of the body or
that particular organ, you aretreating it locally and
destroying it without damagingthe healthy tissue.
So, with our uh tests that we'vedone on mice and then on dogs,
we've seen that the tumorvanishes within a few days, and
(06:28):
then there are no cosmeticdamage, there are no scars.
So, we're very excited aboutthat.
We're looking forward to takingthat to the to the human level.
I I don't want it to feel likethis is the end of cancer.
No, it's just uh basically uh uha particular part of the
(06:49):
treatment.
So it's it's more intended totreat cancers at the early
stages and for solid cancertumors uh only, especially
breast and superficial tumorslike brain tumors, head and
neck, uh uh skin tumors, etc.
SPEAKER_01 (07:05):
Doc Hopti, since you
started in 2019, you've made
great strides, and it soundslike you are making even more
strides.
Is that yes?
Is that fair?
SPEAKER_02 (07:17):
Yes.
Uh what I have to say about thatis that it takes a village.
It's not some, it's not your ownthing alone.
It's not that's it's somethingthat you can do on your own.
So over time, I had to uhrecruit people in physics,
electrical engineering, uh,mechanical engineering, biology,
(07:40):
uh, medical sciences.
Uh, you know, you you need uh alot of different people with
different backgrounds to dosomething like that.
So uh so one of the things aboutmaking progress for a startup is
knowing how to recruit thosepeople, how to get them excited
about what you're doing.
And uh it's it's not easy,especially when you are a
(08:04):
startup and you know, funding isan issue.
Uh uh getting the mostexperienced people is an issue
because of funding.
So a lot of times uh you have touh find out of the box ways to
to develop that.
And to and so it's good.
It builds it it buildsleadership skills, it builds
(08:26):
excitement, and you're alwayssort of uh marketing your
product and always trying tosell your ideas.
So it's it's a different uhapproach than just being in a
big company where you're anengineer or a scientist and and
just working on your particularproject, and that's it.
You have to go beyond that, youhave to expand your horizons.
SPEAKER_01 (08:49):
Well, you're well on
your way, and we're grateful for
your vision and for what you'vedone so far.
We're looking forward for thisto come to a place where people
are able to say, yes, it'spossible that we can be can't
cancer free.
So the world, thank you.
I thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (09:09):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (09:10):
Outside of work, Dr.
Copti, what do you do for fun?
SPEAKER_02 (09:14):
Well, I love
spending time with the family,
traveling.
We we went to many differentplaces around the world.
Uh I like learning about newcultures, traditions.
Uh sometimes if it's uh alow-key thing, maybe just going
hiking in nature, you know, justbeing around the mountains, the
trees, uh, playing my guitar,uh, DJing.
(09:38):
I used to be, uh believe it ornot, uh a DJ a while back.
So I used to do weddings andthings like that.
So that was a fun part of mylife dancing.
Uh but sometimes I like to justhave quiet times, you know, just
be by myself with no noise,nothing.
That could also be somethingvery fun to do.
SPEAKER_01 (10:02):
Meditation is good,
reflection is good.
Thank you for sharing.
So, changing gears, can youdescribe one hardship or one of
life's challenges that you roseabove?
And can I say that because ofthat, you're better, you're
stronger.
What comes to your mind?
SPEAKER_02 (10:22):
So I think the first
thing that comes to my mind, you
know, there everybodyexperiences many hardships, and
the longer you're on thisplanet, the more you experience,
and and but that always helpsyou grow.
I think uh one of the thingsthat I'd like to share is when I
actually left my secure job atIntel, you know, uh, and then
(10:44):
went into these this uh startupworld, into entrepreneurship.
Uh I mean everybody around mesaid, you're crazy, you're
leaving a secure job, you're uhyou have a family, you know, you
have a wife and two kids,there's you have big
responsibilities.
This is uh uh you know not thewisest thing to do.
(11:06):
And to be honest, they're right,they're absolutely right.
But uh sometimes you have to dowhat your heart tells you to do.
And you know, when I saw when Ilost people uh from cancer,
friends of mine, and I felt likeI can make a difference, uh
that's when I went on thattrack.
That now there was a lot ofthings to learn.
(11:28):
I was never an entrepreneur, Ididn't have a lot of the
business skills, but I developedall of that.
Now I I developed it to a pointwhere I actually teach
entrepreneurship courses at uhyou know colleges or or for or
privately for people.
Uh but but initially to get tothat level where you've been
(11:49):
tech technical your whole lifeuh was a big big challenge.
I'm happy that I took thisdecision because I'm developing
something I believe strongly in.
And I'm you know, uh it it itmakes a big difference when
you're doing something that hasuh a meaning to your life, or
(12:10):
you're just feeling like, okay,I'm working Monday through
Friday and praying for theweekend and hoping for the best,
and you know, the salary isgreat, and and that will make me
shut up and just do what I needto do.
When you're an entrepreneur,it's a lot more than that.
You're doing something that isbigger than you, and uh, and
(12:32):
being part of this is is areally beautiful feeling, but I
don't recommend it foreverybody.
It's very, very hard.
It's not uh picnic, and you haveto think that if this is really
is uh if this is something thatreally matches who you are and
and what your your aspirationsare.
SPEAKER_01 (12:53):
You're right.
It's not an easy choice to maketo drop security for something
that's has no security.
It's a big undertaking.
SPEAKER_02 (13:03):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (13:06):
Um, Dr.
Anand, can you please tell ourlisteners um one thing that they
should remember about SynergyMed Devices Incorporated?
SPEAKER_02 (13:18):
Uh I think uh the
main message, as I mentioned
before, is that this is amultidisciplinary uh process.
You have to bring people fromall kinds of uh backgrounds to
make something like this happen.
And uh this uh I mean that's thereason also why we call the
company Synergy Med.
(13:38):
We actually use combination ofnanoparticles and
electromagnetic energy in theform of microwaves and radio
frequency that non-invasivelyheats and destroys the tumor.
So so this requires uh uh youknow uh putting all these things
together uh and uh and uh reallybeing very, very, very focused.
(14:01):
Uh so um what I my message topeople if they want to become
part of this, if they feel thatthey they have the uh
capability, if they're they workin some research hospital or
some veterinary hospital, orthey want to volunteer, please
reach out to me and uh and I'mhappy to share more and discuss
(14:25):
that that with you as well.
Uh if they want to contribute oractually invest in our company,
we have uh we have anequity-based crowdfunding
campaign on on a platform calledWeFunder.
So you go to weFunder.com slashsynergimed and uh and you can
(14:46):
actually make an investment ifyou like.
SPEAKER_01 (14:49):
Thank you.
And how can our listeners umlearn more about your service?
Do you have a website?
Do you have a platform?
SPEAKER_02 (15:00):
Yes, so other than
the wefunder.com slash
synergimed, which has a lot ofinformation, there's a website
also called uhsynergimed-ltd.com.
That's uh the main website, orthey can reach out to me
directly at anand.copy.
So anand is an a-n dot c o-p-tyat synergymed-ltd.com.
(15:32):
So this way they can reach to medirectly and I'm happy to uh
speak with them or write back.
SPEAKER_01 (15:39):
Beautiful.
Dr.
Anon Copti, we really appreciateyou being on the show with us
today.
We wish you and Synergy MedDevice Incorporated all the very
best moving forward.
SPEAKER_02 (15:53):
Thank you.
It's a pleasure to be with youtoday.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (15:57):
Thank you for
listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
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