The MX Q&A: Craig Turner

The estimated number of annual needlestick injuries in the United States varies. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has cited studies showing that between 600,000 to 800,000 healthcare workers incur injuries yearly. NIOSH also notes that workers at an average hospital suffer approximately 30 needlestick injuries per 100 beds per year. Some experts say U.S. workers are injured by sharps every 30 seconds.

The exact number of injuries may be hard to pin down because of underreporting and other problems. However, there's no disputing the severe consequences that threaten workers, including hepatitis, HIV, and other blood-borne diseases. OSHA has tried to mitigate these risks with its 1991 bloodborne pathogens standard. The agency revised the benchmark in 2001, requiring employers to select safer devices and keep a log of injuries.
That revision came in response to the U.S. Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, passed in 2000 with the participation of MedPro Safety Products (Lexington, KY). Founded in 1995 by Craig Turner, MedPro specializes in passive technology designed to reduce the risk of accidental needlestick injuries. MedPro Safety's product line includes the Tube Touch and Skin Touch Vacuette Premium Safety Needle Systems, both of which feature a safety shield that activates after a patient's blood has been withdrawn.
As CEO, president, and board chairman since the company's launch, Turner has overseen the acquisition of eight different passive medical technologies. MedPro Safety focuses on four related product sectors: blood collection devices, syringes for clinical healthcare market, IV devices, and prefilled medicament safety delivery systems.
Turner calls MedPro Safety “a nimble and emerging company.” It went public in 2007, and in 2008 the company signed two agreements with European-based Greiner Bio-One for manufacturing and distribution of the tube- and skin-activated blood collection and safety needle devices. Turner shared his thoughts with MX on these business developments, the impact of the federal needlestick safety legislation, and MedPro Safety's transition from needle destruction to its current focus on passive technology.
MX: MedPro Safety Products has been busy recently on the business front. You took the company public in December 2007 and signed a five-year production and six-year sales contract with Greiner Bio-One in 2008. Then Greiner opened a new plant in Austria. MedPro also received ISO 13485 certification. How would you grade each of these steps in terms of meeting your expectations?
Craig Turner: Each of these steps was critical. Taking the company public in 2007 provided liquidity for our shareholders and allowed us to gain quicker access to capital. Our partnership with Greiner validated our technology and provided a foundation for moving forward with our business model. Receiving our ISO 13485 registration established market acceptance of our product by both our customer and end users. Together, these accomplishments built the foundation for MedPro to become a strategic player in the launch of the next generation of safety products for the healthcare setting—needlestick avoidance technology.
In the 2008 annual report, MedPro's balance sheet showed about $23 million in total assets for the year ended December 31, 2008, compared with a little over $16 million the year previous. How has the overall business climate affected MedPro in terms of investor confidence and stock price?
Having access to capital since December 2007 has enabled us to accelerate the development of our technology, and we have the capital resources to keep our business plan on track. We are sharply focused on achieving our corporate development milestones, which we think our investors appreciate.
What are some of the most striking changes you've seen in the medical device industry since the founding of the company in 1995?
The federal Needlestick and Safety Prevention Act has changed the risk management landscape more than any event since MedPro's inception. Healthcare organizations are looking for new products that increase worker safety in the healthcare setting, and billions of dollars are being spent to develop new safety technologies. We plan to offer a portfolio of products that markedly improve the risk management choices now available to healthcare facilities.
How did MedPro Safety Products become involved in the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act?
During the process of commercializing our first legacy device, MedPro became aware of the Cal/OSHA initiative that led to the introduction of legislation in approximately 25 states to decrease the risk of needlestick injuries. MedPro's involvement was direct and detailed, and we participated in all states and then in the legislation approved unanimously at the federal level.
What lessons did the company learn from its involvement with the federal government that might apply to the healthcare reform and to business going forward?
We have been directly involved with legislative initiatives to ensure that our product development activities will comply with anticipated refinement of regulatory requirements. By staying involved, we made sure we developed forward-looking products in an industry that was in flux. We also gained access to developers seeking an outlet for new and innovative activities by keeping our name visible to the public. MedPro continues to stay fully engaged in legislative activity to follow trends in the industry.
What business challenges do you foresee over the next three to five years for both MedPro in its market segment and for the device industry in general?
MedPro's goal is to accelerate commercialization of passive safety technology by virtue of its strong capital position, internal and external resources, and current IP portfolio. With the development of our internal resources, one challenge will be to identify appropriate partners to help penetrate the market. We must also meet higher expectations for effective safety solutions at a time of increasing pressure to reduce cost.
Healthcare reform remains a series of open questions, and new legislation may increase regulatory and financial pressures on all industry participants. MedPro must appropriately target its development strategy to remain competitive and promote its product portfolio.
How would you describe the regulatory burden for your company's products?
The establishment of regulatory requirements by FDA has remained consistent and is designed to ensure the public that quality is built into devices that protect human lives. We believe adherence to our ISO 13485 quality plan will continue to ensure operational compliance with FDA guidelines and regulations and enhance risk management.
Speaking of MedPro's agreement with Greiner, what are the differences in selling your products to domestic and international customers?
The U.S. marketplace has a legislative mandate to evaluate and adopt safety products to prevent needlestick injuries. Markets in the rest of the world do not have the same incentive, but awareness of the risk of needlestick injuries is clearly increasing throughout the world, as is the demand for effective safety products. In all of our target markets, MedPro's message will remain focused on delivery of achievable risk management through cost effective quality products.
What effect, if any, will healthcare reform have on MedPro?
Healthcare reform may increase the use of medical devices in the U.S. International expectations for healthcare may see similar increases as the standard of care is raised in the U.S. MedPro fully anticipates that while the use of medical devices may increase, there will also be an ongoing pressure to reduce cost.
How might a shift toward better preventive care discussed in the healthcare reform debate benefit a company such as MedPro Safety Products, given its focus on prevent needlestick injuries for healthcare workers?
Better preventive care may increase the use of medical devices. For example, more physicals and more maintenance will require increased use of diagnostic devices. However, the focus on preventing needlestick injuries is a federally mandated requirement for healthcare employers. As the use of these devices increases, the chance of a needlestick injury may also increase, affirming the importance of using devices that will automatically prevent needlestick injuries for healthcare workers.
You've mentioned that MedPro puts a lot of energy into evaluating markets by investigating what healthcare workers like and dislike about the products. How does MedPro conduct these evaluations? Do you receive anecdotal feedback from your customers, for instance?
MedPro spends a significant amount of time and energy in ensuring that its final product has been evaluated by several different types of end users. We accomplish this by building high quality proof of concept tooling and participating in multiple premarket product evaluations with a wide variety of end users. These evaluations are sourced through third-party independent research organizations that solicit users from multiple disciplines. MedPro then incorporates this feedback into final product design for release to market.
How many direct competitors do you have?
It is difficult to quantify the number of competitors we have. While the medical device industry is dominated by a limited number of large corporations, there are numerous providers of single-product solutions that may compete with one part of MedPro's diverse portfolio. Our reach into multiple market segments likely creates a long list of companies that would compete directly or indirectly with our products.
MedPro offers what you call “passive” design safety technology that will change the market sector's paradigm. How does a company with direct competitors such as MedPro position itself in order to grow its business?
Our products employ distinct functionality that we believe will achieve quantifiable risk reduction. By integrating intuitive passive design, not changing patient sharps access techniques and not requiring additional steps to activate safety mechanisms, we believe MedPro's passive product portfolio will contribute to a safer environment for the healthcare worker.
Why did the company evolve from needle destruction to passive technology?
Our experience during approximately 24 months of field research in support of our activities around the federal Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act provided us with insight into operational safety requirements. [It also gave us] a better perspective at a very diverse level. We saw first-hand what was working and what was creating injuries. We also sat with end users and listened to their concerns and suggestions to determine what they felt worked and what didn't. We didn't impose any preconceptions on them. From this experience, we realized that we had to find functionality differentiation within safety technology.
In October 2008 you selected Leo Kiely and Dr. Ernest Fletcher to join MedPro's board of directors. What do you look for in making appointments to your board, and are your criteria different from any company in choosing new board members?
We expect our board to provide strategic leadership and guidance across the entire business continuum, from technical industry knowledge to corporate and financial expertise. As we assemble that group, we look for leaders in their fields who possess desired skill sets and can fit with our culture at MedPro. As a small company, we promote direct interaction between our board and our entire organization, so our directors must be dedicated and willing to be directly involved in our business.

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