We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaitlin Roberson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaitlin, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
There are a number of factors that make pain drug development one of the hardest areas of biotech, including overcoming placebo effect which is around 70% in clinical trials. Although we are in desperate need for innovation in pain therapies, investors and Pharma have become very risk averse in the wake of the opioid crisis. Most of our pain drugs are no more than a mask, a bandaid, that doesn’t get to the underlying cause and most of our current drugs were designed for acute pain instead of chronic pain. In some cases that bandaid can become highly addictive and even lethal. Yet, the reality is that the economic burden of pain is enormous, with 1 in 4 people being afflicted, and 1 in 10 being disabled by their chronic pain. We need ethically minded and impact driven risk takers to tackle this problem.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The experiences that do not appear on our resumes are often the most impactful of all and the very things that shape us into the leaders, collaborators, and servants we become. For me, it was the years in the parenting trenches (which nearly broke me) that helped me get in touch with my true Self, my gifts, talents and passions. I have come to value every season of life for the wisdom it offers and not take for granted even the hardest chapters. I suffered in chronic low back pain for a decade, while trying to care for young children; but that firsthand experience with how the medical community treats pain patients (especially women), is what makes me a compassionate leader in pain drug development now. I literally lived the problem I’m trying to solve and have deep gratitude to my children who are the best mirrors of our broken places and best guides to our true potential. There hasn’t been anything easy about my path, but healing is a lifelong journey that requires the courage to get back up again every time life knocks us down.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m not from Texas so when friend’s visit, we enjoy BBQ, Tex Mex, the amazing museums in Dallas, and the rodeo – if we can squeeze it in! Honestly, walking downtown Ft Worth gives tourists a unique experience that you won’t find anywhere else in the country! I see a collection of cowboy boots in my future closet.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My career before biotech was in the humanitarian field. I learned more about human growth and potential, and what makes a person resilient from refugees than from any other group, book, or organization. The people who have lost country, home, community, and even family; and have had to restart their lives from scratch in a foreign place, deserve all of our respect. They are strong, brave, creative, and the very best entrepreneurs I know.

Website: www.cactitherapeutics.com

Instagram: @cactitherapeutics

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlinroberson

Twitter: @kaitlinroberson

Image Credits
Hanna Larison

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