"Stay strong through ups and downs by balancing your emotions."
Milan Patel Tweet
Welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview with Milan Patel, CEO and co-founder of PathogenDx, a pioneer in health and safety through innovative microarray technology. Milan introduces the patented D3 Array™, a transformative molecular testing method challenging industry norms.
PathogenDx, initially thriving in cannabis, strategically pivoted to an unregulated market, securing success. Milan highlights achievements, including expansive testing assays and entry into food and clinical diagnostics.
The interview explores challenges of the past year, the “Great Resignation,” and valuable entrepreneurial advice. Milan discusses online business trends, AI in diagnostics, and the underestimated leadership quality of humility. Looking ahead, he reveals plans for addressing diagnostic challenges and expanding applications.
The interview concludes with Milan’s vision for success in 2023, emphasizing positive impacts on health and safety.
Join us for an insightful journey with Milan Patel, a visionary shaping the future of molecular testing.
Check out more interviews with entrepreneurs here.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Milan Patel: Absolutely; I am the CEO and co-founder of PathogenDx which provides next-generation microarray technology for better health and safety.
Our patented multiplexed molecular testing technology, Dynamic Dimensional Detection or D3 Array™, offers an alternative to existing testing technologies and methods like plate culture, Real-time PCR (qPCR), and next-generation sequencing, which either take a long time to produce results, or are high in cost, not as accurate, and involve large amounts of plastic environmental waste.
They also lack the ability to standardize across different states. The D3 Array™ addresses these exact problems and closes the gaps created between plate culture, qPCR and Next Generation Sequencing.
We first found our footing in the cannabis sector – early on we realized we had developed this breakthrough, game-changing technology, but the path to achieving FDA regulatory approval could have potentially risked our ability to not only commercialize but to survive at all. So we calculated that we would have more success by pivoting to a federally unregulated market, and fortunately, that calculation was correct.
Today, the D3 Array™ is the core of our technology platform, and the tests built upon it are in commercial deployment in more than 120 regulated laboratories across the cannabis and hemp industries as well as in clinical, food and agriculture sectors.
In the past year, what is the greatest business achievement you’d like to celebrate with your team? Please share the details of that success.
Milan Patel: You know, the greatest business achievement of the last year would have to be the culmination of all of our efforts to get to the point where we are today.
This year we worked to complete and launch our full suite of cannabis testing assays to achieve something that our competitors have not yet been able to do – we now offer the most comprehensive testing platform available to the cannabis and hemp sectors, all off one single platform, and are able to meet testing requirements in every state – no matter the differences in regulations. This was a huge milestone for us and we’re very proud of our efforts to bring the cannabis testing industry into the modern age.
Simultaneously, early on this year, we announced that we were in a position to expand our D3 Array™ beyond the cannabis industry and into the food and clinical diagnostics sectors, and I am very proud of the headway we have made in achieving those goals.
For example, this year we launched SeroX, a rapid, single test that detects Salmonella and 13 serotypes in a single shift, with the goal of supporting the food industry’s poultry sector at a time when Salmonella-related foodborne illnesses remain a significant threat to public health in this country.
Right now we are poised to take the next step; our D3 Array™ is perfectly suited for a wide range of infectious disease targets, and next up we have our sights set on addressing the resolution of complicated Urinary Tract Infections (cUTIs), providing a better experience of results and reporting, lower costs to clinical labs, and less waste of unused reagent wells.
What advice do you wish you had received when you started your business journey and what do you intend on improving in the next quarter?
Milan Patel: When entering a new space, be ready to learn. Open your mind to everything, and take the time to become an expert on every aspect. It’s also important to connect with people in your industry – not just those who have succeeded, but also those who have failed.
Get their advice and utilize this knowledge when deciding your next steps. Also, double and triple-check the input, advice and guidance you are getting. Most importantly, as an entrepreneur it is natural to want to ‘make the dream a reality,’ but running a business needs to be anchored on basic principles.
Ensuring that you do not let your emotions get the better of you is key to ensuring you survive through the tribulations of the ‘ups’ and the trials of the ‘downs’.
Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?
Milan Patel: I am excited for these changes we have seen in recent years and my expectation is that all kinds of technology and digital solutions will continue to grow more in demand in the year to come and beyond. In particular, I think about the potential benefits this could have in the molecular testing sector, as it relates to clinical diagnostics.
More specifically, the headlines this year have been on Artificial Intelligence (AI). While we all think this is going to shape clinical diagnostics going forward, we are evaluating where and how AI best fits in terms of our internal processes of developing tests, and also evaluating the data generated from our tests in various markets to see how AI can be leveraged. We are in the early stages of really understanding the real benefit it can bring.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Milan Patel: I’m glad you asked, as our biggest challenge right now is a welcome one. Having created such an incredible tool, we see it as a never-ending challenge and responsibility to continue to look for ways to apply this technology in the industries and areas that need it most.
In 2024 we will be addressing the resolution of complicated Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs), and all of our efforts are focused on overcoming this challenge. The gravity of the situation is upon us – a growing, aging population, increasing health care costs, downward pressure on insurance reimbursements, and a pressing need to provide accessibility to the under-represented are challenges we need to address.
We plan to attack these challenges by rolling out a fleet of diagnostic assays over the next few years including a full Women’s Health panel, followed by an STI-specific assay, We will ultimately apply the D3 Array™ to a broader range of diseases, including – way into the future – applications in Oncology Diagnostics.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Milan Patel: The most underestimated part of running a company, in my experience, is that the most valuable thing you can do as a leader is remove your own ego from the equation. There are a few things that I believe are instrumental to any business leader’s success, and the first is that it’s not about you. It’s about the team. It’s about the people.
As you scale, there are more people that you can galvanize behind what you’re doing. If you can get them energized and motivated, things will naturally happen because of the power of teaming. One person doesn’t move a mountain.
The second is that to run a company, you must be a listener. Always listen and don’t assume. There’s a difference between hearing someone and listening to them.
You’ll find it hard to form those important connections if you’re only hearing people while you wait to speak. And, if you don’t give the energy to listen to someone, you can’t expect them to give it to you.
Finally, remember that being customer-centric should be something that is core to your philosophy and your ideology. Always be interested in the motivations of who you’re talking to – you have to be able to connect with somebody and learn their interests, pain points, and challenges in order to truly solve a problem.
What does “success” in 2023 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Milan Patel: For us, success this year has looked like keeping our eyes set on the long-term goal. As a company we are on the precipice of a major change, bringing our technology to an area of the diagnostics sector where it is truly needed, and we are so excited for the next chapter.
On the business front, and as I mentioned earlier, our D3 Array™ is perfectly suited for a wide range of infectious disease applications, and the next problem we would like to address is the resolution of complicated Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs).
UTIs are incredibly common in the U.S.; there are a total of 10 million physician visits per year for UTIs, and 10 in 25 women and 3 in 25 men will experience symptoms of a UTI during their lifetime. Treatment of UTIs is costly and can take anywhere from 2 -5 days if antibiotic resistance genes are also being tested.
Misdiagnosis is incredibly common, so further treatment becomes necessary, and costs become unmanageable. We see this as an unmet clinical need and we have a unique opportunity to offer a low-cost, comprehensive panel of causative agents and associated antibiotic resistance genes to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of complicated UTIs.
On the personal front, success means making a difference in people’s health and safety. My mother has been and is currently dealing with cancer for the past ten years, and this has personally motivated me.
As a personal ambition of mine, I want PathogenDx to be focused on early detection and better diagnosis, so we can catch diseases sooner to make a material, positive impact on people’s lives. The current model of bombarding people with drugs helps in extending life, but from my perspective does not go hand-in-hand with keeping or improving quality of life.
The sooner someone knows that they have been afflicted with a disease, the sooner they may be able to make certain decisions to change the course and trajectory of their life – and improve the quality of that life.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Milan Patel for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Milan Patel or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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