Press Release
Dr. James Blake Calls on Americans to Build Daily Resilience One Goal at a Time
Kentucky, USA, Aug 07, 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — After spending decades caring for patients in emergency departments, retired physician Dr. James Blake believes one of today’s biggest health challenges is not always visible. Chronic stress, burnout, and the loss of personal purpose are affecting millions of people across every profession and stage of life.
Drawing on lessons from a career in emergency medicine, his experience as a former Olympic cyclist, and years of martial arts training, Dr. Blake is encouraging people to adopt simple daily habits that build resilience before life’s biggest challenges arrive.
“People often think resilience appears when you need it,” said Dr. Blake. “In reality, you build it every single day through discipline, perseverance, and the willingness to keep moving forward.”
According to the American Psychological Association, nearly eight in ten adults report experiencing stress that affects their physical or mental health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reports that more than one in five U.S. adults experience symptoms of anxiety or depression in a given year. Meanwhile, physician organizations continue to report burnout affecting more than 40% of doctors, highlighting that stress reaches even highly trained professionals.
Dr. Blake believes these challenges cannot always be solved overnight, but individuals can begin improving their own resilience with consistent daily habits.
“We all have multiple failures within our lives and careers,” he said. “It is how we learn from them, redirect our goals, and pursue them again with constant dedication.”
Throughout his career, Dr. Blake learned that success was rarely defined by one major accomplishment. Instead, it came from small actions repeated consistently over time.
Before entering medicine, Dr. Blake competed as an Olympic cyclist, where every race depended on months of preparation. Later, earning a black belt in martial arts reinforced another lesson that stayed with him throughout his medical career.
“Make goals and pursue them in a positive way to complete the task,” he said. “You don’t have to solve everything today. Just take the next right step.”
Dr. Blake also credits teamwork as one of the defining strengths of his years in emergency medicine.
“I absolutely loved the job that I did,” he said. “We touched many people’s lives, and I built strong bonds with all the staff members I worked with.”
He believes the same principle applies outside hospitals. Families, workplaces, schools, and communities become stronger when people support one another instead of trying to carry every burden alone.
Recent research continues to support that idea. Studies have found that people with strong social connections tend to experience lower stress levels, better mental well-being, and improved long-term health outcomes compared with those who feel isolated.
Faith has also remained central to Dr. Blake’s approach to life.
“God has guided me through every season,” he said. “Faith gives me perspective when life becomes difficult.”
Today, Dr. Blake encourages people to spend less time searching for quick solutions and more time building consistent habits.
“Daily reevaluation of goals is important,” he said. “You have to constantly adjust and improve.”
He also believes people should not fear setbacks.
“Perseverance and hard work and dedication matter,” Dr. Blake said. “Success isn’t about never failing. It’s about continuing to move forward.”
What You Can Do Today
Dr. Blake encourages individuals to begin strengthening their own resilience by taking small, practical steps each day:
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Write down one meaningful goal every morning.
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Spend at least 20 minutes moving your body.
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Limit time spent consuming negative online content.
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Reflect each evening on one lesson you learned that day.
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Encourage someone else with a kind word or phone call.
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Review your goals every week and adjust them as life changes.
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Make time for prayer, quiet reflection, or gratitude.
“Inner strength grows through daily action,” Dr. Blake said. “The habits you build today prepare you for the challenges you’ll face tomorrow.”
Dr. Blake hopes more people will share these ideas with their families, friends, coworkers, and communities. He believes resilience grows stronger when people encourage one another and commit to steady personal growth.
To read the full interview, visit the website here.
About Dr. James Blake
Dr. James Blake is a retired emergency medicine physician based in Richmond, Kentucky. A former Olympic cyclist and black belt in martial arts, he spent decades caring for patients while building a career rooted in teamwork, perseverance, faith, and service. Today, he continues to advocate for personal discipline, resilience, goal-setting, and lifelong growth through the lessons he learned in medicine and life.
About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
Press Release
Quoin Pharmaceuticals Announces FDA Fast Track Designation for QRX003 for the Treatment of Peeling Skin Syndrome
Ashburn, Virginia, September 22nd, 2026, FinanceWire
– First-Ever Fast Track Designation Granted for a Peeling Skin Syndrome Therapy
– Second Fast Track Designation Granted to QRX003, in Addition to Netherton Syndrome
– Fast Track Designation Facilitates Development and Expedites Regulatory Review of Therapies Addressing Serious Conditions with Significant Unmet Medical Need
– Follows July 2026 FDA Clearance of the First-Ever IND Submitted for Peeling Skin Syndrome
– Phase 2/3 Study Expected to Initiate in 2H 2026, Enrolling up to 12 Pediatric and Adult Patients in the U.S. and Europe
– Peeling Skin Syndrome Currently Has No Approved Treatment
Quoin Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: QNRX) (“Quoin” or the “Company”), a late clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on rare and orphan diseases, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track Designation to QRX003 for the treatment of Peeling Skin Syndrome (PSS). QRX003 is an investigational topical serine protease inhibitor lotion. Peeling Skin Syndrome is a rare genetic skin disease for which there is currently no approved treatment.
Key Facts
- Fast Track Designation applies to QRX003 for the treatment of Peeling Skin Syndrome.
- This is the first ever Fast Track Designation granted for a Peeling Skin Syndrome therapy.
- Peeling Skin Syndrome is the second indication for which QRX003 has received Fast Track Designation. The FDA granted Fast Track Designation to QRX003 lotion (4%) for the treatment of Netherton Syndrome on March 11, 2026.
- The designation follows FDA clearance in July 2026 of Quoin’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for QRX003 in Peeling Skin Syndrome. Quoin submitted that IND on June 2, 2026, and it was the first IND ever submitted to the FDA for the disease.
- Quoin expects to initiate a Phase 2/3 clinical study of QRX003 in Peeling Skin Syndrome in the second half of 2026.
- The IND submission was supported by clinical observations from an ongoing investigator-led pediatric study in a single subject. Significant improvements in skin appearance along with positive changes in pruritus and a number of quality-of-life measures have been recorded. Treatment is ongoing and has continued for more than 15 months, with no adverse events reported.
- There is currently no approved treatment for Peeling Skin Syndrome.
“This is an important regulatory milestone for QRX003 and for a community that today has no approved treatment,” said Dr. Michael Myers, CEO and Co-Founder of Quoin Pharmaceuticals. “Quoin submitted the first IND ever filed with the FDA for Peeling Skin Syndrome, that IND was cleared in July, and QRX003 has now been granted Fast Track Designation for the disease. We expect to initiate our Phase 2/3 study in the second half of 2026, and we believe Fast Track status will allow us to work closely with the agency as we advance the first company-sponsored clinical study in this disease.”
Peeling Skin Syndrome Development Program
The planned Phase 2/3 study is expected to enroll up to 12 pediatric and adult patients with Peeling Skin Syndrome in the United States and Europe. In the study, QRX003 will be applied twice-daily to greater than 80% of patients’ body surface area (BSA) over a 48-week period, with an interim data review at 24 weeks. Quoin is targeting approval of QRX003 as a potential treatment for Peeling Skin Syndrome in 2028.
The IND submission was supported by clinical observations from an ongoing investigator-led pediatric study. The subject has achieved improvements across key objective severity endpoints, including the Modified Ichthyosis Area Severity Index (M-IASI), Investigator’s Global Assessment (IGA) as well as pruritus and a pediatric dermatology-specific quality-of-life measure (CDLQI). Treatment is ongoing, and after continued dosing with QRX003 for over 15 months, no adverse events have been reported.
About Fast Track Designation
The FDA’s Fast Track program is designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs that treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need. A therapy granted Fast Track Designation may benefit from more frequent interactions with the FDA, eligibility for rolling review of regulatory submissions, and potential qualification for Accelerated Approval and Priority Review, if relevant criteria are met.
About Peeling Skin Syndrome (PSS)
Generalized inflammatory peeling skin syndrome (PSS) is a rare autosomal recessive genodermatosis caused by loss-of-function disease-causing variants of the corneodesmosin gene (CDSN), resulting in excessive shedding of the superficial layers of the epidermis. Patients generally suffer from a variety of conditions including severe pain and chronic pruritus (itch). There is currently no approved treatment for PSS.
About QRX003
QRX003 is an investigational topical serine protease inhibitor lotion in late-stage development for Netherton Syndrome and other orphan skin diseases. QRX003 has been granted Orphan Drug, Rare Pediatric Disease, and Fast Track designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Orphan Drug Designation in the European Union and Japan for Netherton Syndrome. QRX003 has also been granted Rare Pediatric Disease and Fast Track Designation by the FDA for Peeling Skin Syndrome. QRX003 lotion (4%) is currently being evaluated in Phase 2/3 whole-body clinical trials in patients with Netherton Syndrome. Quoin expects to initiate a Phase 2/3 clinical study of QRX003 in Peeling Skin Syndrome in the second half of 2026.
About Quoin Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Quoin Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is a late clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutic products that treat rare and orphan diseases. We are committed to addressing unmet medical needs for patients, their families, communities, and care teams. Quoin’s innovative pipeline is focused on two key platform products, QRX003 and QRX009, that collectively have the potential to target a broad number of rare and orphan indications, including Netherton Syndrome, Peeling Skin Syndrome, Palmoplantar Keratoderma, Pachyonychia Congenita, Gorlin Syndrome and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, Microcystic Lymphatic Malformations, Venous Malformations, Angiofibromas and others.
For more information, visit: www.quoinpharma.com or LinkedIn for updates.
Forward-Looking Statements
The Company cautions that statements in this press release that are not descriptions of historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words referencing future events or circumstances, such as “expect,” “intend,” “hope,” “plan,” “potential,” “anticipate,” “look forward,” “believe,” “may,” and “will,” among others. This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements that reflect the Company’s expectations, assumptions, projections, beliefs, or opinions about the future, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements relating to: Fast Track Designation facilitating development and expediting regulatory review of therapies addressing serious conditions with significant unmet medical need; plans to initiate a Phase 2/3 clinical study of QRX003 in Peeling Skin Syndrome in the second half of 2026; Fast Track status allowing Quoin to work closely with the FDA to advance the first company-sponsored clinical study in Peeling Skin Syndrome; the study expecting to enroll up to 12 pediatric and adult patients with Peeling Skin Syndrome in the United States and Europe; QRX003 expected to be applied twice-daily to greater than 80% of a patients’ body surface area over a 48-week period, with an interim data review at 24 weeks; targeting approval of QRX003 as a potential treatment for Peeling Skin Syndrome in 2028; therapies granted Fast Track Designation benefiting from more frequent interactions with the FDA, eligibility for rolling review of regulatory submissions, and potential qualification for Accelerated Approval and Priority Review, if relevant criteria are met; and Quoin’s products in development collectively having the potential to target a broad number of rare and orphan indications, including Netherton Syndrome, Peeling Skin Syndrome, Palmoplantar Keratoderma, Pachyonychia Congenita, Gorlin Syndrome, Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, Microcystic Lymphatic Malformations, Venous Malformations, Angiofibroma and others. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company’s current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the Company’s ability to pursue its regulatory strategy; the Company’s ability to obtain regulatory approvals for commercialization of product candidates or to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements; the Company’s ability to complete clinical trials on time and achieve desired results and benefits as expected; and other factors discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and in other filings the Company has made and may make with the SEC in the future. One should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as may be required by law.
Contacts
Jeff Ramson
jramson@pcgadvisory.com
Michael Myers
mmyers@quoinpharma.com
About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
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William Stapleton, President and CEO of Iron Rock Payments in Frisco, Texas, shares how early work shaped his path from private banking to entrepreneurship.
How did working from age 14 influence your career?
Texas, USA, Sep 22, 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — “I have worked since I was 14 years old to support myself and used this work ethic into college,” Stapleton says. He grew up in a working-class household in Long Beach, California. His mother is from Ecuador and his father is of German and Polish descent. Starting work young built financial responsibility and shaped his approach to business.
He played varsity baseball and water polo while working through high school. He graduated with honors from Long Beach Wilson Classical High School near the top of his class. In college, he took an unpaid internship at Salomon Brothers while balancing his studies. “I graduated college with full honors, top of my class academically,” he says. He earned a double major in Rhetorical Theory and Global Economics from California State University, Long Beach in 2006.
What did you learn in private banking that helped you as an entrepreneur?
After graduation, Morgan Stanley Private Bank recruited Stapleton to work in New York. He later joined JPMorgan Chase, where he contributed to building what is now known as the Chase Private Client program. He spent approximately seven years in private banking and advisory roles.
Working with high-net-worth clients taught him how to manage relationships, assess risk, and structure solutions. Those skills transferred directly to running a business. Understanding client needs and delivering value became the foundation of his entrepreneurial approach.
How did you transition from banking to payments?
Stapleton founded PayFacto, a credit card processing company based in Montreal. He built the company from the ground up and grew it until Visa acquired it in 2019. The sale carried an estimated valuation of $300 million.
He did not wait long to start again. In 2012, he founded Iron Rock Payments, a credit card processing company based in Frisco, Texas. The company has been recognized as an Inc. 5000 company and employs 15 people. Stapleton serves as President and CEO.
What do businesses get wrong about payment processing?
Many businesses treat payment processing as a commodity. They focus only on rates and miss the bigger picture. The right processor can improve cash flow, reduce chargebacks, and provide data that drives decisions.
Stapleton emphasizes that service matters as much as price. Businesses need a partner who understands their industry and responds quickly when issues arise. A few basis points saved on fees mean nothing if downtime costs thousands in lost sales.
What lessons from your first exit did you apply to Iron Rock Payments?
Selling PayFacto taught Stapleton the importance of building systems that scale. He learned to hire people who are better than him in specific areas and to trust them. He also realized that culture drives retention and retention drives growth.
At Iron Rock Payments, he focused on creating processes that work whether the company has 5 employees or 50. He invests in technology that automates repetitive tasks so his team can focus on client relationships. He also prioritizes transparency with clients and employees.
What advice do you give to people thinking about starting a business?
Start before you feel ready. Waiting for the perfect moment means you will never start. Stapleton began working at 14 and took an unpaid internship in college because he wanted experience more than money.
He also advises entrepreneurs to stay close to their customers. The best product ideas come from listening to what clients actually need, not from guessing. Finally, he says to protect your reputation. Trust takes years to build and seconds to destroy.
If you do nothing else
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Start working as early as you can to build a strong work ethic and financial discipline.
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Take internships or entry-level roles that teach you skills, even if the pay is low or nonexistent.
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Spend time in an industry before you try to disrupt it so you understand how it really works.
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Build systems and processes that can scale as your business grows.
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Hire people who are stronger than you in areas where you are weak and trust them to do their jobs.
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Listen to your clients and let their needs guide your product and service decisions.
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Protect your reputation by delivering on promises and treating people with respect.
Share this Q&A with someone who is thinking about making the leap from employee to entrepreneur or who wants to understand how early work experience shapes long-term success.
About William Stapleton
William Stapleton is President and CEO of Iron Rock Payments, a credit card processing company based in Frisco, Texas. He founded the company in 2012 after selling his previous venture, PayFacto, to Visa in 2019 at an estimated valuation of $300 million. Before entering entrepreneurship, he worked in private banking at Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, where he contributed to creating the Chase Private Client program. He graduated with full honors from California State University, Long Beach with a double major in Rhetorical Theory and Global Economics.
About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
California, USA, Sep 22, 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — David Wayne Fish is putting a specific commitment on the record. With six kids moving through baseball, football, and tennis across overlapping seasons, he says the easiest thing to let slip is presence. So he is naming the standard out loud.
“If one of my kids has a game or a practice, someone from this family is there,” Fish says. “That’s the whole pledge. It sounds simple because it should be simple. The hard part is building a life where you can actually keep it.”
Fish runs healthcare and wellness companies as a consultant and CEO, work that does not pause for a Tuesday scrimmage. He is not pretending otherwise. The pledge is not about having endless free time. It is about deciding in advance what wins when a calendar conflict shows up.
Why he is saying it publicly
Fish has coached football, baseball, and helped organize tennis for years. He says most parents do not fail their kids through some dramatic absence. They fail them through a hundred small ones that never get flagged as decisions at all.
“Nobody skips a game and thinks of it as a broken promise,” he says. “It just looks like a scheduling problem. I wanted to write my own rule down so it stops being negotiable case by case.”
He credits his own father, and the model of family life he grew up with in Michigan, for the instinct behind this. Fish says he was raised around the idea that a father’s job includes showing up, not just providing.
What the commitment actually covers
The pledge Fish is making has a few concrete parts:
Every game gets a family face in the stands. Not every game gets David personally, with six kids and overlapping seasons that is not realistic, but every game gets someone: him, his wife, or another family member who can stand in.
Coaching commitments get finished, not started. Fish says he does not sign up to coach a season and then quietly hand it off when work gets busy. If he takes a team, he finishes the season.
Conflicts get resolved before the week starts, not during it. Fish says he sits down weekly and maps which kid has what, so trade-offs get made on a Sunday with a clear head instead of on a Wednesday in a parking lot.
“I’d rather lose an hour on Sunday mapping the week than lose a moment at my kid’s game because I’m distracted by something I should have planned around,” he says.
What he is asking of himself, not other parents
Fish is careful to frame this as his own standard, not a lecture. He is not telling other families how to run their weeks.
“I’m not in a position to tell another parent what their life allows,” he says. “I know what mine allows, and I know where I’ve cut corners before without meaning to. This is me closing that gap for myself.”
He says the pledge will get tested immediately, since his kids’ seasons rarely line up cleanly. Two games at the same hour, in two different towns, is not a hypothetical for his family. It happens.
“When that comes up, the answer isn’t ‘we’ll figure it out.’ The answer is already written down: someone from this family goes to each one,” Fish says. “I’d rather have made that call in October than try to make it in the car in March.”
Holding himself to it
Fish says he plans to track the pledge the same plain way he tracks anything else he takes seriously: a simple log of games, and who from the family was there. No app, no public scoreboard, just a habit he intends to keep himself honest about.
“If I say I’m going to do something for my kids, I want a way to check whether I actually did it,” he says. “That’s the only accountability that’s ever mattered to me.”
To read more, visit the website here.
About David Wayne Fish
David Wayne Fish is an entrepreneur based in Laguna Niguel, California. He works as a CEO and consultant to healthcare and wellness companies. Outside that work, he coaches youth football and baseball, helps organize tennis programs, and is the father of six children active in sports.
About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
Quoin Pharmaceuticals Announces FDA Fast Track Designation for QRX003 for the Treatment of Peeling Skin Syndrome
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