In healthcare, breakthroughs often begin with someone looking at a problem differently. For Brian Grimberg, PhD, witnessing long lines of children waiting hours for malaria testing in Kenya and Papua New Guinea sparked an innovative solution that would transform diagnostic testing. Today, as Chief Scientist at Hemex Health and advisor to multiple biotech ventures, Brian continues to bridge the gap between laboratory discoveries and real-world healthcare solutions.
Solving Medical Challenges With New Technology
Brian’s journey into entrepreneurship began with a straightforward mission: making people’s lives better. His early research led to groundbreaking solutions for malaria detection and sickle cell diagnostics, which eventually formed the foundation of what is now Hemex Health. “I invented a diagnostic where you shoot a laser through blood that may be infected and then use magnets to line up the malaria’s iron laden digestive byproduct,” Brian explains. “When the magnets are near the blood sample, it blocks a certain amount of light, and when you take the magnet away and it lets light through. You do that over and over again and if you see a sine wave signal out of somebody’s blood then they have malaria.”
This innovation dramatically reduced testing time from an hour to just 1 minute. “Before, we had to sort of feel their forehead and look in their eyes and reason that ‘you’re probably okay’ just to get people a quick screen,” Brian recalls. “With this invention, we were able to actually tell that they had malaria or not, and get them treated.”
Overcoming Hurdles in Biotech Development
Despite his current success, Brian is candid about the challenges of bringing medical innovations to market. “People think that for Hemex Health, that has $5M in sales, it took 12 years to become an overnight success,” he shares. “I don’t think people realize how long it takes to really become a big success, especially in the biomed space – there’s no Facebook in biomedical because you need a lot of testing and study to make sure that it’s safe and works.” His experience includes running nearly thousands of tests for the malaria diagnostic alone, underlining the extensive validation required in medical technology development.
Investing in Breakthrough Healthcare Solutions
Brian’s success has led him to invest in and advise other promising biotech ventures. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Cleveland Cytometry Services, a company developing systems to screen drug compounds for diabetes and cancer treatments. Additionally, he works with The Cancer Fund as their “science guy,” evaluating potential investments. “Simple basic ideas are really attractive to me,” Brian notes. “I like devices because you can actually see how they work and how they do things, whereas drugs can be harder to deal with. Devices solve a problem, move forward, reiterate – whereas drug discovery is either the drug works or it doesn’t. If it does work then it becomes about understanding and mitigating side effects”
Keys to Successful Team Management
Leading multiple biotech teams requires careful attention to communication and motivation. Brian emphasizes the importance of keeping diverse teams connected and aligned. “You’ve got engineers and physicists sometimes and medical people, and they all speak sort of different languages,” he explains. He advocates for the “Hewlett-Packard Way” of management – walking around and maintaining regular contact with team members. “You don’t need a daily update, but just make sure that you’re staying in touch so you could stay ahead of problems,” Brian says. “Every project has problems – you just don’t want people to be hiding issues or trying to fix things themselves.”
Advancing Brain Health With Neuromodulation
Brian’s next venture focuses on neuromodulation technology to improve brain health, particularly targeting patient’s with dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The technology, initially developed for sports performance, shows promise in maintaining cognitive function. “My own mother had early onset Alzheimer’s, so this is sort of near and dear to my heart,” he shares. For aspiring biotech entrepreneurs and researchers, Brian emphasizes the importance of patience and persistence. “You’ve got to find the right advisors,” he stresses. “I’ve been involved in some companies that should have died a decade ago, but they kept hanging on. Sometimes stick-to-itiveness can go too far the other way. You need experienced counsel to help understand when to go forward and when to hang it up.”
To connect with Brian Grimberg and learn more about his latest biotech ventures and innovations in healthcare, follow him on LinkedIn.
