Week 16 – Let’s Make a Deal

Hope all is going well and that you are staying cool. It seems like most of the world is in some type of heatwave so I think I’m safe saying that. One of the things Tina and I enjoy doing during the summer is to extend our weekends by taking a day off every other week instead of taking a week or two off. It is always tough taking long stretches of time off when you own a business since there is always something that needs to be done. Regardless, as we tell our team, it is important to take time off to recharge the batteries outside of the company so I try to practice what I preach. Not always easy to do but as I said to Tina, I would rather be working on the beach than working behind a desk. I have never been a person that sits still for long so being able to catch up on some stuff without the standard interruptions that my typical day brings is nice. Plus, being able to enjoy the outdoors and the sound of the ocean is a not too shabby. A few weeks ago, Tina made the mistake of pointing out someone on the beach that had this nice small laptop. Needless to say, I thought it was a great idea, although I don’t think that was the reason Tina was pointing it out. Sometimes, things just work out for the best (at least for me in this case).

The title for this week’s blog also stems from our long weekend mini-vacations. Before we head to the beach, I always enjoy seeing the morning game shows that have been on for years. You can judge me if you want but those shows bring back a lot of memories from my youth a LONG time ago. Plus, I enjoy doing some mindless activities since most of the days are spent making decisions, developing technology, etc. One of those game shows I like is Let’s Make a Deal. It’s come a long way from the Monty Hall Days, but Wayne Brady does a nice job hosting. For those of you not familiar with the show, the concept is people in the studio audience (and now some virtual studio audience due to the pandemic) get to see if they can win a prize by making a decision on prizes that are unknown to them. They can keep what they win, if they win, or trade it for something else. Sometimes that’s a prize and sometimes it’s a “zonk,” which is worth nothing. I am always amazed that people, even when they have won something nice, get greedy to go for the “bigger” prize in the hopes of striking it big. Sounds a lot like the way many life science companies run their business today. Always looking for the megadeal instead of settling for a nice prize. Many times, these companies end up getting a “zonk” since they are gambling as much as the people on the show. We have seen that time and time again with several companies.

Then I got to thinking what if our technology was being presented to the “audience” as a prize in true Let’s Make a Deal fashion. I would serve as the host of the show. Although I’m not as funny, talented, or good-looking as Wayne, I do know the “merchandise” well. We would have a lot of curtains to chose from to say the least from over the 19 years that we’ve invested time, our team’s talent and capital to bringing these technologies along. In many ways, we are looking for the right studio audience to participate. An audience that sees the value in what we’ve developed without looking for the mega prize (although the true mega prize is being able to help patients, these still fill some big markets).

Let’s talk about what’s behind the curtains. In staying with the spirit of the show, I will provide information about what I consider the three biggest “prizes.” Behind curtain #1 is our NuSpun™ Vascular Graft, which has undergone significant benchtop and preclinical assessment. In the future, this device could be used to help patients if they need to have their blood vessels replaced or if they need a place to access for hemodialysis. Behind curtain #2 is our Bio-Spun™ fistula plug, which has also undergone benchtop and preclinical evaluation. In the future, this device could be used to help patients that have wound tract complications associated with diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s, or cancer. You can learn more about our technology behind curtains 1 and 2 on our website - https://www.biosurfaces.us/advanced-technologies. Last but certainly not least, behind curtain #3 is our Bio-Spun™ Cell Chamber (https://www.biosurfaces.us/cell-chamber). The cell chamber, which is the newest of our devices, is being assessed by many companies as a way to deliver cells to the body, creating what we call a biofactory where the body provides the nutrients and the cells inside the chamber provide the target agent. While you wouldn’t be able to see behind the curtain before making a selection, all of these devices are important and highly valuable. We have a lot of other prize technologies that we developed that could easily be substituted behind these curtains. The best thing about our show is there are no “zonks”. We’ve already taken the trouble of removing those out over the last 19 years.

For our “studio audience” that is looking for some outstanding developed technologies, let’s make a deal. The curtain is open and the prize is ready for you.

Please check out our next one on August 12th. We’ll see you back here on August 19th.

Matt