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From porcine xenografts to robots, to rejection-proof 3D printed organs and the electric drones that will deliver them, Martine Rothblatt is doing her part to help the future of humanity. Seldom is one presented with the opportunity to meet an extraordinary individual. Rarer still, is when that same individual meets every expectation and leaves having inspired many in their wake. This was one of those rare moments. At this year's Elevate Tech Festival in Toronto, an array of speakers graciously attended and answered questions on the many stages located throughout the downtown core. After a quick scan of their bios, it was clear there was a long list of honourable attendees, however, one stood out prominently from all others. It is a list that included many famed celebrities—the kind chaperoned by a cluster of security guards—but they all failed to capture the intrigue of this author by a considerable margin. The most compelling, venerable and forward-looking of descriptors profiled was that of Martine Rothblatt. Outside of certain circles, including familial, those affected by rare disease, stock analysts/ brokers and the LGBTQ community (for which she is a pillar), most have not heard nor read of Rothblatt's name. Hopefully, in time, that will change. For the uninitiated, Rothblatt started her career as an attorney before founding Sirius XM Radio, which later led to significant success and notoriety. But her success, even at this level—the kind that allows for one to rest on their laurels, retreat to the hillsides of southern France, forever surrendering to the fetid cheeses and vinous ablutions of the region—is not where Rothblatt's unique story ends. It was in the early 90s when Rothblatt learned of her youngest daughter's diagnosis, a rare disease called pulmonary arterial hypertension; a disease that had no cure and a fatal prognosis. Remarkably, Martine took it upon herself to find a cure, and, in short—she found it. Perhaps more remarkable is that Martine lacks any previous background in the sciences, at least not to the extent that she had peered extensively through laboratory microscopes to make this a reality. Her attempts to find a cure is a testament of will and desire, the kind that stems from the threat of severing one's parental bond with that of their child and that of their wellbeing. Rothblatt's story mirrors those of other parents driven by health-induced urgency for their children: Augusto and Michaela Odone, independently researched and famously pioneered a dietary oil for their son Lorenzo, afflicted with Adrenoleukodystrophy (ADL); while Chris and Hugh Hempel, sought to find a cure for their twin daughters' rare disease, Niemann-Pick type C, commonly known as childhood Alzheimer's. (In the latter case, the parents were given approval by the FDA on compassionate grounds to administer the experimental use of their treatment. Rothblatt, too, faced the FDA in her attempts for FDA drug approval so that thousands with a rare crippling disease could benefit.) And so Rothblatt's story continues, as detailed on stage by the Elevate interviewer Ilse Treurnicht and Rothblatt herself: In 1996, Rothblatt founded United Therapeutics, the company that would bring to market Remodulin, the drug that ultimately saved her daughter's life and that of countless others. Rothblatt's company has since developed and have on offer a total of five drugs (Adcirca, Orenitram, Remodulin, Tyvaso and Unituxise). photo credit : Laura Miller/Elevate To get an even better sense of who Rothblatt is as a person, Remodulin, her company's drug that treats thousands to live a longer, healthier life, is given to those who cannot afford the drug "for free", as Rothblatt explains. Admittedly, this article is primarily fuelled by Rothblatt's overall approach and motivations for good; sadly, a tale not heard often enough—the kind that gets discarded or lost in the deluge of sports heroes, incompetent politicians and Instagram-able trends with today's modern-day news cycle. Martine embodies the traits one expects of a good, compassionate leader, not just for a company and its employees, but also for those suffering and living in fear with disease; those helpless in the shadows of malady. Judging by United Therapeutics' website design, it seems Rothblatt is a fan of Ralph Steadman's art, a visual artist also known for his association with gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. Like the dynamic artist and his eccentric work, this gives the impression that this CEO is perhaps a tad whimsical, or even surreal (if one can be surreal); working at a different level than the rest of us or those in her corporate milieu of number-crunchers. Indeed, when hearing her speak on stage, one gets the sense that Rothblatt is capable of traversing the commercial world with compassion, mindfulness and a kind of self-awareness that some would argue is rare among her cohort; in other words, she is an exemplary, a complete package cap-a-pie for our 21st century. Rothblatt's endeavours are numerous and also include AI and robotics. She has written a book entitled "Virtually Human: The Promise—and the Peril—of Digital Immortality" on the subject of downloading one's entire actual/digital self and living in perpetuity inside computer servers. Her obsession with robots (particularly the one modelled after her partner Bina) also starts to blur the lines of the real and the virtual. It's no wonder that she describes herself as a Transhumanist. Some of this might sound familiar to Black Mirror fans; the episode “San Junipero”—critically acclaimed and now considered a masterpiece—has artfully recreated, or perhaps plays out Rothblatt’s technological, futurist ambitions. Fans of the show in attendance can almost hear Belinda Carlisle's “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” when listening to Rothblatt speak of computer servers downloading our lives that achieve digital immortality. But while Rothblatt blurs lines between the virtual and real, she is consumed with alleviating our current, real world problems. Rothblatt's past is intriguing, but being a futurist inspires her to move with the science of the times. In that sense, Rothblatt's other company Lung Biotechnology looks to breathe new life, literally, for those in need of a lung transplant, but also for those in need of any organ. Rothblatt's latest and perhaps most ambitious venture is to manufacture an endless supply of transplantable organs. Rothblatt goes on to explain that her endeavour to start a company that could produce organs in abundance for all who would need them was eyed as unrealistic; something belonging to the sci-fi sections of bookstores than actual science labs. She was undeterred. Unfortunately, with successful organ donations scarcely commensurate with those in need of a transplant, many still die in waiting. A subsidiary company of United Therapeutics, Lung Biotechnology PBC intends to make the impossible a reality. [Note the 'PBC' portion in the company's name; it means that the company is a Public Benefit Corporation, a less common business model but one that will hopefully proliferate throughout the biotech sector. More on this later.] Lungs, Organ Transplants, and Toronto's Dr. Shef Keshavjee. Making the impossible possible aligns with this year's Elevate Tech Festival and its theme of 'Moonshots', which focused on tech startups looking to break impossible odds, i.e. shots that are taken despite foreseen obstacles and doubtful cries of their supposed inherent improbabilities. During her talk, Rothblatt points to innovations made at Toronto General Hospital, and in particular one that was pioneered by Dr. Shef Keshavjee. She goes on to say that she discovered a YouTube clip of Dr. Keshavjee illustrating his EVLP technique for lung transplantation, “where he can take completely dead lungs” and essentially bring them back to life. In preparation for transplantation, Dr. Keshavjee works on lungs in a normothermic ex vivo perfusion chamber. The normothermic aspect is critical because it has been shown to have healthier, better performing effects than that of organs iced for hours. Immunological preparation for the processes of transplantation and all attendant lung injuries like edema can be treated as a result of the ex vivo’s intermittency period, a process Dr. Keshavjee has described as “personalized medicine” to improve “quality, safety and predictability of outcomes in transplantation”. In simpler terms, the lung is kept alive outside the body, as evidenced in an eyeopening video from 2010 (see below), and kept healthy until surgery. Inspired and seeing the potential for the technology, Rothblatt was quick to move. Rothblatt’s company, she goes on to say, has since “built the first centralized lung restoration facility anywhere in the world” using the technology pioneered by the Toronto General Hospital team. Rothblatt points out that Lung Biotechnology PBC, has restored lungs that were otherwise unwanted, and they have already “saved hundreds of lives” with this technology, and likely thousands more down the road. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2EmuyHoMAI Ex-Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP) Technology For more detailed information on EVLP, its capabilities in lung transplantation (focusing on facilitating recovery versus more traditional mechanisms; comparing it to cold preservation techniques and more, as pioneered by Dr. Keshavjee and his team and in association with UHN in Toronto and partnering institutes) see lecture here. The importance of (and need for) Public Benefit Corporations (PBCs) in the BioSciences. Complex problems require complex solutions, but more than anything else, they require capital—lots of it. But those imbued by the infallible spirit of humanity, who seek to improve the health of millions, will (hopefully) find investors to fill their capacious needs. As Rothblatt points out in her Elevate talk, "the...

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