PRINCETON, NJ (SBN) — Researchers at the Global Medical Institutes in Princeton, NJ are participating in a Phase 3 trial of a new drug that may help smokers who failed at least one previous attempt to stop smoking with or without therapeutic support.
The drug is cytisinicline, a naturally derived investigational treatment that is believed to aid in smoking cessation. Cytisinicline is structurally like nicotine and works by binding to the nicotine receptor in the brain, functioning as a partial agonist and antagonist.
In this episode of SBN Newsmakers, host Steve Lubetkin chats with Dr. Sanjay Varma, MD, one of the researchers working on the ORCA-3 drug trial investigating cytisinicline.
SBN Newsmakers now includes closed-captioning for the deaf or people with a hearing loss. Click the “CC” button on the video player to activate closed-captions.
The Global Medical Institutes is recruiting participants for the ORCA-3 trials. For more information, visit https://orca-3.com/ or call the Global Medical Institutes at (609) 921-3555.
About the Guest
Dr. Sanjay Varma, MD
Dr. Sanjay Varma is a board-certified adult and geriatric psychiatrist with over 20 years of experience treating a broad array of psychiatric disorders. Dr. Varma is a graduate of the UMDNJ Robert Wood Johnson Medical School where he also completed his residency training in Adult Psychiatry as well as Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship.
Prior to joining Princeton Medical Institute, Dr. Varma was a psychiatrist at Penn Medicine, Princeton House Behavioral Health in Princeton and Actify in Princeton. Dr. Varma believes in building a strong rapport with his clients and their families to deliver the best care.
Steve Lubetkin is the news director for StateBroadcastNews.com. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. He refocused on multimedia journalism and podcast production after a long career in corporate branded journalism and public relations.
He has won numerous awards for his audio and video news reporting from the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced a wide range of audio and video podcasts in his other role as managing partner of State Broadcast News’s parent, The Lubetkin Media Companies.
Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional.
In March 2021, he was elected to the board of directors of the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and in July 2021 he was named secretary of the chapter. In August 2021, he was honored by SPJ with one of the organization’s 2021 Howard S. Dubin Outstanding Pro Member Awards, given to regular members of an SPJ chapter who go above and beyond in serving their chapter.
Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996.
Steve also has reported on-camera and produces virtual conferences for NJSpotlightNews.org, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC.
From May-November 2019, he produced and reported a weekly podcast, The CRE News Hour, a news and features program focusing on the commercial real estate industry.
From 2014 to 2019 he was New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com and filled in covering Chicago/Midwest and Atlanta.
Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies.
Earlier in his career, Steve reported on rock music at the Jersey Shore for the Asbury Park Press, and was a broadcast news anchor and production engineer for WJLK-AM & FM, then owned by the Press. He also worked as a general assignment reporter for the Red Bank Register, Shrewsbury, NJ.
You can email Steve at steve@statebroadcastnews.com.
