Finding Pull-ups Pushing 50 A Difficult Climb? Hang on to the Heart of Adventure

Pull-ups are hard and much more difficult than pushups, especially as I am pushing 50 years old. Although as I see the decreasing number of sequential push-ups possible for me, I embrace our ability to adapt to changing conditions and information in order to capably master that which used to come much more easily.

In addition to this last minute body-building, many other preparations were necessary for our October rock climbing trip at Devil’s Lake State Park in Baraboo Wisconsin with Boy Scouts of America Climbing Venture Crew 317. My friend, Steve Toth and I started Venture Crew 317 in 2003—at nearly the same time that CorDynamics, Inc. was founded. CorDynamics sponsored this climb, like many others.

The relationship between the cardiovascular symptoms such as that pounding-in-the-chest feeling, syncope and high heart rate with the adrenaline release of rock climbing had became evident to me several years earlier. I stood on top of my first rappel (lowering yourself down a rope) of a 40-foot cliff at the very same Devil’s Lake park on a dark, snowy afternoon. Steve was there goading (now in the BSA, we don’t goad, we “challenge by choice”) me over the edge. He was confident in the knots he inspected on my brand new climbing harness; I checked everything over nearly 20 times. I did make it down and my adventures on the edge began.

Fast forward to our October event with the 14 climbers of Troop 373 out of Wheaton, Illinois we had set an ambitious agenda:

• Friday night campout for the trained personnel.
• Early Saturday wake-up and climb for leaders to set up multiple anchor systems high on the cliffs.
• A set of climbs ranged in difficulty from easy to expert are roped up.
• The Troops arrive for safety and procedural orientation as well as knot-tying instruction at the trailhead.

As the Scouts completed their heart-racing ascents, they too experienced first-hand the connections between cardiovascular health, testing limits and climbing. What a natural fit for CorDynamics and this series of adventures we are proud to support.

Climb Something.

Outsourcing Drug Development Research: Should We Be Afraid?

In Phoenix, at the American College of Toxicology annual meetings, we spoke with a number of industry decision-makers.

This year, the topic on everyone’s mind was—outsourcing. Pharma and biotech colleagues tell us of plans to outsource in almost every area of R&D including those that pertain to CorDynamics.

• Lead Optimization in Drug Discovery
• Safety Pharmacology
• Preclinical Toxicology
• Nonclinical Consulting

Some are wary at the speed and scope of predicted reliance on outsourcing. We get it. Before starting CorDynamics, my business partner Peter Senese and I were in their shoes, looking for quality contract research organizations to serve our R&D needs while still maintaining control of our projects, budgets and timelines.

Take an anesthetized study for instance. As a rule, these studies are conducted to obtain a complete cardiovascular assessment over escalating doses in the same animal – using multiple replicates. These results need to be turned around quickly, and oftentimes generated with limited compound supply. No problem, we get it – and have done it many times.

To us, “out” sourcing is a bit of misnomer as we think it insinuates clients are taken “out” of the loop. This couldn’t be farther than the truth. We have our technology and communication processes set up to ensure our clients feel they can access “their” data and, if need be, change course quickly. Our consulting services enable us to provide lead optimization strategies, regulatory compliance advice and FDA risk assessments.

Our philosophy has always been: We may be off-site, but we are always within reach.

It’s a model that works and one I’m excited to see the industry embrace.