Employee Spotlight: Get to Know Christie McCoy

We recently had a chance to interview Christie McCoy, our External Innovation & Clinical Trials Manager! She gives us some insight into her role at Torigen and the importance of veterinary clinical trials.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your background and what brought you to Torigen.

A: I grew up in Kansas and went to Kansas State for both BS and MS. I am a board certified medical and veterinary entomologist and I love everything insect related (except mosquitoes). I volunteer at Pet Resource Center of KC, a non-profit that provides low cost vaccinations, urgent care and spay/neuter services. I have 3 rescue cats: Beaker (8), Ziggy (5ish) and Tim (2). I have spent my career so far in animal health at large and medium size pharma, a contract research organization, USDA and now Torigen. I am excited to be a member of Team Torigen, particularly delivering game changing innovation.

Q: Can you explain about the clinical trials process for the veterinary field? And is there anything that separates it from the human side?

A: Clinical trials are exciting studies in which we gain more information about our potential products when used in a more diverse population of animals. By then, we have generated enough data to safely use them and have regulatory standards we have to meet before doing so. We currently have 2 ongoing trials, one in dogs and one in horses, both with our cancer vaccines to provide data to our regulatory authorities that they are safe and efficacious. One thing that is different about veterinary clinical trials vs. human clinical trials is the inability of the patient to speak. So we rely on the animal's human(s) conveying enough information about the patient via diaries while taking the drug. There are also regularly scheduled visits with the veterinarian to check in with the patient's people on their progress. So while veterinary and human clinical trials differ, they both rely on humans for the ultimate outcome!

Q: What's your favorite part about working at Torigen?

A: My favorite thing about working at Torigen is the people. I learn something from them every day and the culture is such that I'm not afraid to ask questions (I ask an unholy amount of questions). They are always answered (although sometimes I don't always fully understand, but Google!).