“I believe a combination immunotherapy approach for glioblastoma will be curative…it's just a matter of getting big companies to work together and getting the funding together.” Shawn Carbonell MD, PHD, has high hopes for developing the cure to glioblastoma… but low funding. Shawn, co-founder and president of Cure Glioblastoma, is considered The Brain Surgery Dropout across social media. He left neurosurgery training to invent a new drug for brain cancer, which is now in phase one clinical trial for recurrent high-grade gliomas and glioblastomas. Shawn is joining Amber Barbach on Glioblastoma aka GBM to talk about his experience as a neurosurgeon in training, how his nonprofit is carrying out its mission, and details about his drug.

Hear us talk about:

Discovering a molecule. According to Shawn, this occurred with a little luck and a little bias. He didn’t discover the molecule itself, one of his PhD advisers did; he noticed its function in brain cancer. He went into Oxford studying glial cells with none of the biases of the field, opting to use a top-down approach rather than bottom up, to be open to all possibilities. While observing and analyzing human and animal tissues, he hypothesized that the cells were doing something that might have involved the molecule that his mentor discovered. It was verified with a few experiments.

Developing the drug. Shawn’s career took a few turns after his discovery blew up, leading him to leave the neurosurgery residency to start a biotech company, OncoSynergy. His goal was to develop a drug against the molecule, but there were no resources to aid him in LA at that time. He moved to San Francisco, and got a second postdoctoral degree at UCSF, where he was able to develop the drug as a spinout. It was a seven-year process to get to a manufactured drug and a vial from an idea, then another year after that. The trial was delayed a year due to COVID-19, then the first patient was enrolled.

The for-profit out of the nonprofit. Shawn launched a new biotech company called Brazen Bio as a completely separate entity partially owned by Cure Glioblastoma. It’s an accelerator for new scientists to get their discoveries out of the lab and into the real world to benefit patients. “I created the program that I wish I had in 2009 when I was starting OncoSynergy… we really nurture these scientists and try to create scientist-CEOs.”

The combination immunotherapy approach. The way forward for treating glioblastoma is a combination immunotherapy, multiple drug approach, Shawn claims. He believes that though it will take a lot of optimization, it will create enough synergy to teach the body's own immune system that glioblastoma cells are bad and to eliminate them. Those drugs already exist, and one of them is Shawn’s very own, but the others are owned by Big Pharma A and Big Biotech B, who are resistant to cooperating for various reasons. 

The power of social media. Shawn uses his TikTok platform to provide value to his audience, but he’s still figuring out how to do it. His content is building a community of thousands of people who have been touched by glioblastoma in some way. Glioblastoma is a rare cancer in relation to other cancers, but that doesn’t mean few people have it. 


What’s Next?
Shawn has created the first biotech launch house, Brazen House, to accelerate new scientists in getting their discoveries out of the lab and into the real world to benefit patients.

Resources
Shawn on the web | LinkedIn | Twitter

As always, the information that is discussed in Glioblastoma AKA GBM is not meant to treat or diagnose any disease. What we and our guests share are personal stories of what has worked for the individuals in question, and should not be taken as medical advice or opinion, and is not a substitute for medical advice. If you have any questions about your own situation, always consult with your medical provider and healthcare team.