Matthew McManus took the reins of Mansfield, Mass.-based PrimeraDx, a molecular diagnostics company, as president and CEO in August. Previously, McManus headed the Cleveland Clinic Laboratories, where he expanded the clinic’s reference laboratory services and secured funding for the construction of a new laboratory.
McManus talked with PBN about why he is excited about the company’s “game-changing” products for the field and what they can do for health care.
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PBN: What does PrimeraDx do and how does it distinguish itself in its field?
MCMANUS: PrimeraDx is a molecular diagnostics company, which means we enable tests for anything based on DNA or RNA – for example, genetic testing or looking for the presence of a virus in someone’s blood. We are unique in that our technology can look at many different “targets” at the same time, quantify them and even do different types of tests in a single tube. While others can do pieces of that, we can do them all at the same time.
PBN: Tell us a little bit about PrimeraDx’s new products and why they have “game-changing” potential for molecular diagnostics.
MCMANUS: The game-changing nature of what we do is around time, value and quality. Using our technology to ask multiple questions at once can greatly speed up getting all the answers. In many cases in the clinic today, you need to get an answer for the first question before you ask the next or the one after that. We can answer them all at the same time. This efficiency also gives a better value to the health system because it translates into fewer tests and more answers.
PBN: What kind of PrimeraDx technologies would the average patient come in contact with?
MCMANUS: Our technology is ultimately applicable to many situations. We can detect the presence of viruses or bacteria, changes in the genes of cancerous cells, even look at a person’s own genes. These kinds of tests are very common, and so we believe our impact can be significant.
PBN: You came to PrimeraDx from your role as head of the Cleveland Clinic Laboratories. What influenced your decision to move? And, what do you see as your biggest challenge in your new role?
MCMANUS: My decision to move here for PrimeraDx was driven mostly by the opportunity to change the way diagnostics fit into the clinical care equation. We have the ability to significantly improve the care patients will receive, and to do so with much higher value – whether that’s time, cost or quality – than many current diagnostic platforms. The Cleveland Clinic is a fantastic organization that really focuses on a “patients first” approach. I just felt I could ultimately contribute more through PrimeraDx.
The challenge, in many ways, is to focus on applications of our technology that provide the highest benefits first. Our technology is so versatile that we could work on almost too many different things!
PBN: As the new president and CEO, what immediate goals do you have for the company?
MCMANUS: The most immediate goals are for us to place our ICEPlex platform out into service and get our tests into the hands of laboratorians. We are very close to this, and must focus on execution to ensure the best experience for our users. Secondarily, we are working with a number of partners to define and kick off some exciting collaborations – more to come on that shortly!
