CEO Viewpoint – Lessons on herding a product from the barn to the medical front lines

By Joy Parr Drach

CEOs and entrepreneurs are always asking, “What’s next?”

For our team at Ad Astra Diagnostics (AAD), that question led to the development of a first-of-its-kind portable diagnostic platform that can deliver lifesaving information in resource-constrained environments ranging from disaster zones to hospital emergency rooms.

One of the first steps in assessing patients is running a complete blood count, the most commonly ordered test. This traditionally requires a lab, electricity, phlebotomy, and, oftentimes, the Internet. Our portable analyzer removes these obstacles by providing results patient-side in about 2 minutes by using a finger stick.

This technology has its origins in rugged and unpredictable livestock settings. Our QScout platform was first used to test cattle for infections without leaving the farm. Using just a small drop of milk or blood, a treatment decision can be made in seconds.

When our team began to consider what’s next for our technology, it became curious about how it could be used in other industries. For one, it was designed for nontraditional healthcare settings, and results were produced almost immediately. The jump to using our technology on humans seemed only natural. In November 2023, we received our first 510(k) clearance from the FDA.

As I look back now at the steps AAD took to grow its product line from diagnostics for animals to humans, I see some important lessons that any entrepreneur can learn from.

Lesson #1: Upcycle 

In other words, how can your products solve other problems? We saw an opportunity to reimagine our products and provide human point-of-care markets with the same benefits we offered livestock producers. As we moved from livestock testing to testing humans to speed up life-saving triage decisions, we exemplify the definition of upcycling: reusing or recycling something in a way that increases the original object’s value.

Lesson #2: Stay curious and open to new opportunities
As we were developing livestock tests at sister company Advanced Animal Diagnostics, we became curious about other applications. On the farm, our technology counted immature cells in livestock, which are a marker of mortality. Turns out, they are also a marker of sepsis in humans. After discussing the possibilities with a critical care medicine sepsis expert, we gained a champion who encouraged us to move forward. We added that capability to our test. Our curiosity led us to experts in other fields to research new opportunities. By staying open to areas outside of our original plan, we entered a new market where our technology can solve big problems.

Lesson #3: Surround yourself with the best
Surround yourself with the best employees, board members, and investors because they are the engine of progress. “Best” doesn’t just mean smart subject-matter experts. It also refers to individuals who are adaptable, resilient dot connectors who bring diversity of thought to your efforts. Because we built a team with these core characteristics, we were able to expand to human diagnostics, file our first 510(k), and get FDA clearance faster than many companies.

Lesson #4: Create a supportive culture 

Give your team both literal and figurative ownership and freedom to explore their new ideas and to fail. Empower them to iterate, rapidly and keep obstacles, such as administrative burdens, out of their way so they are free to innovate.

Lesson #5: Use your village
Creating something new isn’t easy, and you will get farther faster by bringing your proverbial village along with you. AAD has been fortunate to connect with innovative health systems, hospitals, and clinics from rural North Carolina to the upper Midwest metros. They have been insightful and instrumental testing partners. We couldn’t have made this leap without help from the North Carolina ecosystem of partners, investors, and mentors. The North Carolina Biotechnology Center gave us our first loan. The Council for Entrepreneurial Development’s VentureConnect conference introduced us to a key investor, Labcorp. The First Flight Venture Center  connected us to BARDA DRIVe and our first contract for human test development. We couldn’t have done it without them.

Remember, there is a community and resources to help entrepreneurs. Use them.

Parr Drach has launched more than 30 new products or initiatives, She serves on several boards promoting entrepreneurship, life sciences and agriculture. She earned a bachelor’s from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago.