Richard Burnham Lanman is an American
biotechnologyentrepreneur,
physician scientist, and
naturalist.[1] His contributions relate to improving diagnosis and utilization of less invasive medical procedures,[2][3] most recently as Global Chief Medical Officer at
Guardant Health, Inc., a
precision oncology company that developed a blood test replacing invasive tissue biopsies to sequence tumor DNA and improve cancer treatment selection.[4][5][6] Lanman has worked in five different medical specialties, oncology, cardiology, endocrinology, pulmonology, and psychiatry, as well as
historical ecology, and has authored or co-authored over 125
peer-reviewed scientific publications.[7]
Lanman began his medical career as an attending psychiatrist at
Kaiser Permanente in
Santa Clara County, California in 1985, where he served as Chief of Psychiatry and Chemical Dependency, then, as Chief of Quality. At Kaiser Lanman encouraged adoption of less invasive procedures and improvements in diagnosis in other specialties, culminating in a book chapter he authored on variation in physician practice patterns and hospitalization rates for children with asthma across Kaiser's 14 hospitals in Northern California.[3]
Physician practice management
Lanman left Kaiser Permanente to serve as Chief Medical Officer and Sr. Vice President at San Jose Medical Group (SJMG), in
San Jose, California from 1993 to 1995, a large multispecialty physician group practice.[12][13][14][15] San Jose Medical Group was named the "most effective managed care medical group in the country" in 1996 by The Advisory Board Company.[16]
In 1995, Lanman founded Adesso Healthcare Technology Services as
Founder and Chief Executive Officer.[17][18] Adesso offered an alternative to a cost-cutting approach by
health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that had been using
primary care physicians as
gatekeepers, limiting access to specialty physician care.[19] Under Adesso, patients could be referred to specialist physician networks, such as
cardiologists or
ophthalmologists, without preauthorization. In return the specialist networks contracted directly with health insurers, and instead of
fee-for-service, the specialists were reimbursed utilizing severity-adjusted case rates for each episode of care.[2][20] Adesso filed for an
IPO in early 2000,[21] however, the public offering succumbed to the stock market crash that year.
Biotechnology
Lanman transitioned to the biotechnology sector from physician practice management, first joining
Atherotech, Inc. as Chief Medical Officer in 2000. Atherotech offered a cardiovascular biomarker diagnostic known as the
Vertical Auto Profile- or VAP-expanded cholesterol and lipoprotein test, to improve prediction of risk of heart attack and stroke.[22][23][24][25][26] There he published validation studies on the VAP test's unique
lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) cholesterol measurement and other lipoprotein biomarkers.[27] Atherotech was privately acquired by Behrman Capital.[28]
In 2005, Lanman joined a second preventive cardiology biomarker company,
diaDexus, Inc., as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. DiaDexus developed a test for
lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), the first FDA-cleared biomarker test to predict risk of
stroke.[29][30][31] DiaDexus completed a reverse IPO via merger with
VaxGen in 2010.[32]
After working in two companies to improve prediction of risk for cardiovascular events, Lanman joined
Veracyte, Inc. in 2008 as Chief Medical Officer. Veracyte develops minimally invasive diagnostic tests utilizing
genomics. Veracyte's initial genomics tests improved the diagnosis of
thyroid nodules and
lung nodules without resorting to surgery.[33][34] Lanman was also
principal investigator in a study validating Veracyte's third genomics test to improve diagnosis of
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis versus other
idiopathic interstitial pneumonias.[35] Veracyte, Inc. went public in October, 2013.[36]
In September 2014, Lanman joined
Guardant Health, Inc. where he served as Global Chief Medical Officer.[6] Guardant's first diagnostic test, Guardant360® enabled sequencing of the DNA in patients' advanced cancers with a simple blood test, as an aid in treatment selection for
targeted therapy or
immunotherapy without requiring invasive tissue biopsies.[4] This non-invasive test was approved by Medicare to help identify targetable mutations in most solid tumor cancers in 2019.[37] Guardant Health went public in October, 2018.[38]
Lanman retired from Guardant Health on December 31, 2019, but continued as an Advisor through early 2021. He continues to research and publish in medicine and historical ecology, while also serving on the Boards of TwiXimo, Inc., Circulogene, Inc., WeTree, Inc., and as an Advisor to Forward Health, Inc., Glympse Bio, Inc., and Teiko Bio, Inc. He was a past Board member of
Biolase, Inc. from 2017–2022 and the
American Psychiatric Association from 1983–1985.[44][45]
Representative publications
Journal articles
Lanman RB et al. (2006) Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2: review and recommendation of a clinical cut point for adults. Preventive Cardiology 9(3), 138-143
PMID16849876[46]
Muhlestein JB et al. (2006) The reduction of inflammatory biomarkers by statin, fibrate, and combination therapy among diabetic patients with mixed dyslipidemia: the DIACOR (Diabetes and Combined Lipid Therapy Regimen) study.
Journal of the American College of Cardiology 48(20, 396-401
PMID22731672[47]
Lanman RB et al. (2012) The historical range of beaver in the Sierra Nevada: a review of the evidence. California Fish and Wildlife Journal 98(2), 65-80.[39]
Lanman RB et al. (2015) Analytical and Clinical Validation of a Digital Sequencing Panel for Quantitative, Highly Accurate Evaluation of Cell-Free Circulating Tumor DNA.
PLOS OnePMID26474073[48]
Blakely CM et al. (2017) Evolution and clinical impact of co-occurring genetic alterations in advanced-stage EGFR-mutant lung cancers.
Nature Genetics 49(12), 1693-1704
PMID29776953[49]
Slavin TP et al. (2018) Identification of Incidental Germline Mutations in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors Who Underwent Cell-Free Circulating Tumor DNA Sequencing.
Journal of Clinical Oncology 36(35), 3459-3465
PMID30339520[50]
Lanman RB "et al." (2021) Ancient DNA analysis of archaeological specimens extends Chinook salmon's known historic range to San Francisco Bay's tributaries and southernmost watershed. California Fish and Wildlife Journal 16, e0244470
PMID33857143[51]
Book chapters
Lanman RB et al. (1989) Reorganizing for the Future in Talbot JA (ed.) Future Directions for Psychiatry 172-180
ISBN9780890422151[11]
Lanman R (1994) Improving Pediatric Asthma Care in a Health Maintenance Organization, in Horn SD and Hopkins DSP (ed.) Clinical Practice Improvement: A New Technology for Developing Cost-Effective Quality Health Care 169-174
ISBN9781881393252.[3]
^
abL. Page (May 15, 2000). "Fee for Episode". American Medical News. pp. 13–14.
^
abcLanman R (1994). Horn SD; Hopkins DSP (eds.). Improving Pediatric Asthma Care in a Health Maintenance Organization, in Clinical Practice Improvement: A New Technology for Developing Cost-Effective Quality Health Care. New York: Faulkner & Gray, Inc. pp. 169–174.
ISBN9781881393252.
^
abLanman RB; Pardes H; Benedek EP; Rink PJ; Wiener JM (1989). Talbott JA (ed.). Reorganizing for the Future, in Future Directions for Psychiatry. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Press, Inc. pp. 172–180.
ISBN9780890422151.
^"From Kaiser to San Jose". San Francisco Business Times. October 4, 1993. p. 19.
^Philip M. Mack (July 1, 1996). "A Capital Idea". California Medicine. Vol. 3, no. 7. San Francisco, California: California Medicine Publishing, Inc. pp. R3–R14.
^Wendy Sheanin (August 8, 1995).
"People in Business". SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle.
^Jeff Goldsmith (December 2000). "The Internet And Managed Care: A New Wave Of Innovation". Health Affairs. 19 (6): 42–56.
doi:
10.1377/hlthaff.19.6.42.
PMID11192421.
^J. B. Muhlestein; H. T. May; J. R. Jensen; B. D. Horne; R. B. Lanman; F. Lavasani; R. L. Wolfert; R. R. Pearson; H. D. Yannicelli; J. L. Anderson (July 18, 2006). "The reduction of inflammatory biomarkers by statin, fibrate, and combination therapy among diabetic patients with mixed dyslipidemia: the DIACOR (Diabetes and Combined Lipid Therapy Regimen) study". Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 48 (2): 396–401.
doi:
10.1016/j.jacc.2006.05.009.
PMID16843192.