Joshua Vieth
Senior Director of Research Breakthrough T1D
Joshua Vieth, Ph.D., is senior director of research at Breakthrough T1D, responsible for the Disease-Modifying Therapies portfolio. With expertise in immunology, organizational development, and scientific communication, he received his B.S. in biology from Baldwin Wallace University and a Ph.D. in infection, immunity, and transplant science at the University of Toledo College of Medicine. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Child Health Institute at Rutgers University. Joshua’s research interests focused on the development of rare T cell subsets and included the discovery that non-ligand binding domains of the T cell receptor are critical for the development and function of natural killer T (NKT) cell populations. Prior to joining Breakthrough T1D, he was Managing Director of the Immune Monitoring and Advanced Genomics Facility at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Joshua spends his free time focused on several causes, including numerous local boards and commissions and serving as President of the Board of Directors of the Morris Animal Refuge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Seminars
Review current levels of pharma and investor engagement with antigen-specific approaches to identify what would strengthen confidence in the space and positioning the field to attract deeper investment going forward.
- Understand what Big Pharma considers a commercially attractive indication and how they come to this decision to inform biotechs of what steps can support successful commercialization
- Discussing the type of data and evidence pharma and investors have indicated they want to see to clarify the gap between what is currently available and what may be expected, and explore how early-stage programs can prepare for this
- Considering how indication choice and commercial viability factor into investment decisions, to weigh biological rationale against practical, market-driven considerations, and inform how programs might frame their own value proposition
- Which autoimmune diseases are best suited for the use of antigen-specific therapy once a patient has been diagnosed
- Debate whether the field should prioritize preventing disease in at-risk individuals (Stage 1-2) versus treating established disease (Stage 3)
- Understand why prophylactic clinical trials are challenging (slow enrollment, long duration, high costs) but may offer the best path to demonstrating tolerance efficacy
- Learn from teplizumab’s success as a preventive therapy that delays type 1 diabetes onset by two years
