Read the Conversation
EF: Looking back at the past three years, 2020 being the year of diagnostics, 2021 the year of vaccines, what do you think 2022 will be the year of?
RM: 2022 is going to be the year of treatments released by pharmaceutical companies and FDA, Regulatory agencies around the world (Instead of FDA), and also the year of reactivation of processes and health activities outside the COVID. Noting that the pandemic is still present, we're trying to promote and push our product catalogue made by more than 40 different suppliers from 25 different countries. We must move on from the pandemic.
EF: what role did Kabla have during the pandemic?
RM: Kabla was the first company to get an approved antigen solution and also the top 3 in molecular tests. It has seven different products for the detection of COVID, four different rapid tests, two for antibodies, and two antigen tests. We represent a couple of large American companies, as well as Certest, a Spanish company that is a global leader in COVID.
In Mexico, we perform 20 to 25 tests and collaborate with the State of Mexico Government to move forward quickly, we try to accelerate technology diagnostics. In terms of regulation, we have more than 100 registers waiting for approval as we try to always have new technology in Mexico. Every year we go to trade shows in Europe and the United States including MEDICA Düsseldorf.
EF: How do you think we can restore the importance of diagnostics for non-communicable diseases and get patients back to care?
RM: Beyond COVID, the world is currently going through a lot. With the world changing in many ways that affect respiratory health, we need to act and be more proactive in the decision-making process. Something positive we're seeing, post-pandemic, for the first time, is companies and government innovating technologies together, something we ought to take advantage of to solve or treat these diseases in a less invasive, better-after life method.
EF: From a diagnostics perspective, how do you define access in relation to what we've been talking about?
RM: The aftermath of the pandemic now has physicians in possession of faster and more accurate diagnostic methods and likewise for patients. Kabla has a big catalogue for different diseases and has different solutions such as rapid tests and point-of-care equipment which are portable devices that help with diagnosing samples to get quantitative results. We’re also investing in chemiluminescence, which is a more sensitive methodology, more accurate and not necessarily more expensive.
EF: Is there anything that's upcoming or anything that's just being released that you're excited about or looking forward to?
RM: Chemiluminescence is one of the launchings we’re excited for his 2022, We're also strengthening our participation in Chemical Chemistry, haematology and Acute care (Gases and Electrolytes) solutions. trying to pursue more accurate electrolytes, And in the future, we need to go after big markets, such as hemodialysis. We know that we can do great because we are an independent company that can undergo a faster decision-making process.
EF: You take your cluster decisions when you’re creating and when you're innovative, so it will help you move faster than other big multinational companies. Right?
RM: That is one of our successes with COVID. Despite being a smaller company, our impact was greater than other multinational companies that prioritized on in other markets. That was an opportunity that we took in 2020 and 2021.
EF: How do you decide who to collaborate with and choose as your partner(s)?
RM: Our primary objective is to deliver to the widest range of customers, there is only a difference in price tag because of the volume. At times, suppliers do exclusivity agreements, and they are hard to track because multinational companies have lots of different solutions which sometimes might not have parameters. That could be a reason to not go ahead with a process for the patient. We need to change that.
EF: Are you looking for partnerships with suppliers in Kabla outside of Mexico?
RM: Every November we go to MEDICA to present the company. We have lots of suppliers and sometimes we do have surprises with new developments, from new companies. We’re also investing in new technology, we have representation exclusivity from a Finnish company that developed the first CE-validated breathalyzer for COVID. With this same device in the future, they are pursuing to detect of certain cancers.
EF: Can you elaborate more on your projects working on cancer or other non-communicable diseases?
RM: We have solutions for HPV in PCR and represent a company that has a patent on how they detect HPV in urine. We are trying to introduce this product in Mexico and at the same time, educate the communities regarding the benefits and advantages of the product. For diabetes we have 4 different meters, we have a rapid test for Hb1C, PSA, and FOB also a point of care solution for Hb1C, Cholesterol, and Triglycerides among others.
EF: Do you agree we need to educate people, doctors, and physicians on how to communicate with communities to feel comfortable using this technology?
RM: That's what we try to do. We give access to education to our customers through our brochures, our simplified, short videos, and the magazine. Our next magazine is about cancer.
EF: Looking at a scenario five years into the future, looking back at this period, how do you want it to be remembered? What do you want your attendees to be remembered for?
RM: In five years, we'd like to be recognized as people who helped and as people who offered solutions and offered innovation while keeping low pricing and margins. People who pushed their government to invest in technology and as citizens having taken interest in public matters, committees of proven external helpings without interest, as we know these kinds of committees exist but they're inside the government.
EF: And as a leader that managed during the pandemic, how do you want to be remembered? I prefer to eliminate this one, and better focus on Kabla
RM: I want to be remembered as a person who gathers and tries to push always looking out for the community. Kabla is a big family, and we're proud to be Kabla. We have a great team and have lots of young talents. For example, we have a department of innovation that gathers all our CRM, our ERP, internal reports and everything, and I think investing in technology was the best decision that we made back then in 2007.
