Wait, How Long Has It Been?

With this blog post, I’m celebrating a few milestones. The first, and least important, is the return to blogging after a long hiatus and brief foray into podcasting. Truth be told, I loved the latter platform, but found the time it took to be a bit of a burden as the business grew. And so it’s back to the printed word, and hopefully more frequent (though still insightful) posts.

This month also marks a special anniversary for me. Thirty years ago, I first stepped foot onto the Emeryville campus of Chiron Corp, and began my journey in the IVD device industry. A lot has changed in that time. For one thing, Emeryville then was mostly abandoned industrial buildings, with a cool diner and a couple of fantastic BBQ joints nearby. Back then, PCR was still a fledging technology with a lot of quirks. The Human Genome Project had just started the year before, and would take another 12 years to complete. And HIV was still a death sentence almost everyone that became infected.

Today PCR is ubiquitous, an entire genome can be sequenced in a week, and HIV patients are living longer, more productive lives. I was fortunate enough to work on Chiron’s HIV viral load test, which helped validate the importance of monitoring virus levels in a patient for the management of the disease. To this day it is still one of the best examples of a complementary - or even companion - diagnostic there is. And one of the greatest projects I ever worked on.

Along the way I have met some fantastic people, which I’ve had the privilege of working with over the years. I’ve also worked on some really cool projects, and seen new technologies go from an neat idea to a staple in the clinical toolbox. There were some disappointments to be sure, but each one of them was a unique learning experience which I value even more than the successes.

Although there was that one. That wasn’t so special.

 All of this has led me to where I am now - an incredibly fortunate person who’s had the privilege of continuing to work with some amazing people, and some truly incredible technological innovations.

So as luck would have it, we’re celebrating another milestone here this month. We just signed our 100th client, which is well beyond my wildest expectations when I started this business in 2018. The K2 Network of friends and collaborators continues to grow, and I still get to work on some really cool projects. Everything from AI-based software medical devices to companion diagnostics to some devices that will no doubt revolutionize health management right in the patient’s home.

I’d say I’m looking forward to the next 30 years, but I’d be super old by then and really should have retired long before that. So I’ll leave it at this. Thanks to everyone that has helped me get to this place. I really appreciate your trust and belief in me. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Cheers all!