With a passion for travel, pharmaceutical executive Loretta Itri, MD, had the opportunity to explore South America this year. Among the destinations that Dr. Loretta Itri took in were Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil, and she visited Iguazu Falls on the border of the latter two countries.
Among its more than 270 waterfalls, the falls area is rich in wildlife and home to a variety of primates, including distinctive howler monkeys. Reaching three feet in height, howler monkeys are slow moving and inhabit the upper reaches of dense rainforest. Able to travel for miles along the canopy tops, howler monkeys subsist on flowers, fruit, eggs, and nuts. Living as long as 20 years, the monkey is named for its loud shriek. Another unique animal of the region is the capybara, the world’s largest rodent. Growing as large as four feet long and 20 inches tall, the rodents have reddish-brown fur and live in groups of up to 100. With a vegetarian diet that includes bark, grass, and fruit, the capybara lives up to a decade amid numerous predators that include pumas, jaguars, eagles, and anacondas.
0 Comments
Starting her career as a research physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, clinical oncologist Loretta Itri, MD, headed pharmaceutical development departments at large drug manufacturers, including Ortho Biotech, Inc. Outside of her role in clinical research, Dr. Loretta Itri enjoys international travel. She has visited far-off destinations such as South Korea. Less touristy than its neighbors Thailand, China, and Japan, South Korea possesses intriguing culture and natural beauty that attract millions of visitors every year. One of the country’s most popular events is the Lotus Lantern Festival, held annually for more than 1,300 years. The holiday celebrates the Buddha’s birthday, an important date for Korean Buddhists, who make up about 15 percent of the population. From mid-April until early May, illuminated paper lanterns line every street in the capital city of Seoul. During this time, dozens of traditional dance and music performances display the best of Korean culture. Loretta Itri, MD, has spent over two decades in the pharmaceutical and research industry. Beyond her professional accomplishments in oncology, Dr. Loretta Itri has also traveled extensively. Her most recent trip included several South American countries, which are home to raccoon-like coati.
The South American coati is a small mammal native to forested areas in Uruguay, Argentina, Columbia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Coati are very social animals. Female coati and their offspring live together in large groups, known as bands, which can contain up to 30 members. While older males are solitary, they often demonstrate nurturing behaviors, such as grooming females. While bands can enter into territorial conflicts, coati are just as likely to perform social behaviors when interacting with other groups. Coati also protect their band members by sounding a vocal alarm to warn of nearby predators. Coati living in areas with urban development have grown accustomed to humans. People should refrain from feeding or standing too closely to them. While young coati can bond with humans and make good pets if given the proper conditions, they are not domesticated animals. An established New Jersey-based executive in the biopharmaceutical sphere, Loretta Itri, MD, has facilitated the development of multiple cancer drugs. An avid theatergoer, Dr. Loretta Itri recently took in a unique Broadway production of King Lear starring English actress Glenda Jackson. Having earned two Oscars across a storied acting career, Ms. Jackson held an elected seat in Parliament before being enticed back into acting on the London stage in 2016 at age 80. Despite an absence of two decades from thespian activities, she earned plaudits for her take on Shakespeare’s tragic king in an Old Vic performance directed by Deborah Warner. Instead of crossing the Atlantic with the production as expected, Ms. Jackson next earned a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her portrayal of an “angry old woman” in Three Tall Women by Edward Albee. The King Lear production currently running on Broadway has a new supporting cast and features the often-subversive vision of director Sam Gold, who previously cast Daniel Craig in Othello. While operating in an executive capacity at The Medicines Company, Loretta Itri, MD, informed the research and development of novel therapeutics. Traveling regularly on business, Dr. Loretta Itri visited San Diego, California, and Zurich, Switzerland, frequently.
One of the attractions of Switzerland’s capital city is its compact, pedestrian friendly Old Town, which can be comfortably covered in a couple of hours on foot in a tour that takes in a number of major attractions. An ideal starting point, the Paradeplatz tram station provides easy access to Bahnhofstrasse, which features banks and high-end boutiques, including the storefronts of renowned watchmakers. Turning onto colorful, winding side streets presents a rewarding detour, with the old main thoroughfare Rennweg dotted with quaint structures dating back as far as the Middle Ages. Crossing the Limmat River after the Bahnhofplatz (Zurich’s main train station) leads to the Central Polybahn funicular, which provides a short, scenic ride uphill to a popular viewpoint overlooking the city. Veering onto Niederdorfstrasse presents a welcome antidote to high-end shopping, as it features numerous reasonable deli-style and takeaway kebab restaurants. A popular site on the river is the historic Rathaus, or Zurich Town Hall, which is open to the public and in which the business of the city is still conducted. Loretta Itri, MD, serves as the executive vice president of global health sciences and regulatory affairs for The Medicines Company in Parsippany, New Jersey. Responsible for overseeing research and development, pharmacovigilance, and regulatory affairs, Loretta Itri, MD, follows advances in cancer research, including a new therapy for cancer-associated anemia. Recent research has demonstrated that erythropoietin (EPO) therapy may be a potentially effective treatment for cancer-associated malignant anemia because it has shown the ability to improve blood parameters in studied patient populations. Cancer-associated malignant anemia can be triggered by a variety of causes, including bleeding, hemolysis, or poor nutrition. It also can occur as a side-effect of radiotherapy or chemotherapy treatment, or from a drop in red blood cell production due to a deficiency of naturally-occurring EPO. A meta-analysis of six medical research studies of patients with cancer-associated anemia showed that EPO therapy improved hemoglobin levels and reduced the need for transfusions. EPO treatments may prove especially helpful in treating patients with colorectal cancer, who are prone to cancer-associated anemia due to reduced iron absorption in the colon and intestines. Although iron supplementation is generally prescribed for these patients, alone, it does not stimulate sufficient natural EPO release in the body to address low hemoglobin levels. Since 2012, Dr. Loretta Itri has served as the Executive Vice President of Global Health Sciences and Regulatory Affairs at a pharmaceutical company in New Jersey. Widely published in her field, Dr. Itri is the author of numerous papers on a wide range of topics in peer-reviewed journals. In particular, Loretta Itri, MD, has written on the topic of erythropoietin. Erythropoietin is a hormone made mainly by the kidneys in human beings. The hormone's primary function is to help produce red blood cells (erythrocytes), which are the main mechanism of transporting oxygen to the organs and tissues from the lungs. Dr. Itri and her co-authors demonstrated erythropoietin’s potential for safeguarding the human central nervous system against traumatic brain injury. The article detailed the encouraging results of a test in which the recombinant form of the hormone was injected directly into the ischemic (oxygen-deprived) brains of rodents. The premise of Dr. Itri's co-authored paper has been supported by a number of other studies since its publication. An experienced pharmaceutical professional, Loretta Itri serves as the Executive Vice President of Global Health Sciences and Regulatory Affairs at The Medicines Company. A fan of musicals, Loretta Itri has enjoyed attending Broadway productions such as Bright Star. Since holding its world premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, Bright Star has taken Broadway by storm. Set in mid-1940s North Carolina, the show follows the lives and affairs of Asheville Southern Journal editor Alice Murphy and World War II veteran Billy Cane. Tony-winning director Walter Bobbie brings these stories to life amidst a soundtrack of bluegrass-inspired music. The group of media and writing professionals from the New York Outer Critics Circle recently celebrated the 2015-16 Broadway season during its annual awards. Among a list of nominees that included Waitress, Tuck Everlasting, and American Psycho, Bright Star won the title of Best New Broadway Musical. The show also earned recognition for its score, triumphing in the Outstanding New Score category for Broadway or off-Broadway productions. In addition to its wins, Bright Star was nominated in several other categories, including Outstanding Director and Outstanding Choreographer. Parsippany, New Jersey-based Loretta Itri has built a successful career as an executive at Hoffmann-La Roche, Ortho Biotech, and other pharmaceutical companies. In her current role as the Executive Vice President of Global Health Sciences and Regulatory Affairs at The Medicines Company, Loretta Itri oversees such clinical development divisions as biostatistics. A specialized form of statistics, biostatistics concerns itself with the interpretation of complicated scientific data. Biostatisticians focus on data related to, among other disciplines, public health, clinical medicine, and biology. Biostatistics often involves the careful analysis of data arising from studies involving human subjects. With the potential for a wide variety of results, biostatisticians rely on statistics to navigate and transform the data from such studies into usable information. This can help them uncover the origin of diseases and otherwise overcome various medical challenges. However, biostatistics extends beyond data analysis. By collaborating with other health care professionals, biostatisticians can advance scientific inquiry by playing an instrumental role in the design of clinical trials and other medical experiments. Dr.Loretta Itri has a wealth of experience in clinical development, pharmaceuticals, biostatistics, regulatory affairs, and clinical data management. Her experience includes current work as the Executive Vice President for Global Health Sciences and Regulatory Affairs at the Medicines Company and past experience as a Senior Vice President of Worldwide Clinical Affairs at Ortho Biotech, Inc. and the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute. In addition to her professional work, Loretta Itri enjoys several recreational activities and will soon travel to Mallorca in Spain. Located in Spain’s Balearic Islands, Mallorca includes over 500 kilometers of gorgeous coastline. Additionally, over 40% of the island is protected, so visitors are able to enjoy much of the region’s natural beauty. Known for its beaches, Mallorca also boasts many other tourist attractions including golf courses, water sports, entertainment, hiking trails and biking routes. The island is easily accessible via the nearby airport and regular ferry service. With a vibrant cultural scene and nightlife, Mallorca’s capital, Palma de Mallorca, is one of the most popular attractions and is a must-see for visitors to the island. |
AuthorAs chief medical officer and president of pharmaceutical development at a public biotech company, Dr. Loretta Itri oversaw the worldwide development of a number of important drugs, including Tesetaxel, a novel oral taxane used in the treatment of breast, gastric, and prostate cancer. Archives
October 2019
Categories |