CEO's Blog

Good morning!

The current economic crisis is going to reshape our economy in profound and lasting ways likely not seen since the expansion of the populace into the suburbs following the end of World War II.

It’s obvious that many banks and other overleveraged corporations are going to fail in the next two or more years. The expansion of credit to dizzying heights that fuelled economic growth in recent years was unprecedented and unsustainable. If we truly believe in free market capitalism, we should accept that the best course of action for businesses with flawed business models is to let them fail. Government bailouts are not going to fix the problem. Bailouts will only reward failure, at enormous expense to taxpayers and future generations.

But while the media remains fixated on the ongoing train wreck of bad news affecting the financial world and now spilling over into the corporate world, destruction is only half of the story. The other side of the equation is the creation of businesses and even whole new industries that better meet our needs.

After the fact, after the crises are over, we always look back and marvel at how something new and indispensable seemingly sprang up from nothing. Of course, that isn’t really how it happens. The seeds had been planted long before. But by clearing out the dead wood from the forest, the fire created new growth opportunities for the young seedlings. The lesson is that crises have a unique ability to shift the natural order, and for those who know where to look, great opportunities can always be found in times of crises.

So what opportunities are going to be created from this economic crisis? I would argue that we need look no further than healthcare. Escalating healthcare costs were unsustainable in good times, and are definitely too expensive in bad times. Combined with an aging population that will require more care in the years ahead, the current model of healthcare delivery is going to have to change dramatically. Change of this magnitude isn’t going to be easy, but it is going to be forced upon us by the deepening economic crisis.

The only real option for improving the efficiency of healthcare delivery is to shift the focus from expensive crisis care to a model that emphasizes prevention and early detection. By any measure, a healthcare system that emphasized prevention and early detection would cost a fraction of the current system. But it would require among other things new, cost-effective technologies for early detection of diseases that place the biggest burden on the healthcare system: cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, among others.

With its potential to be used as a low-cost non-invasive screening platform for a wide range of diseases, Picomole’s LifeSens breath analysis technology may be the ideal prescription for the healthcare system’s need for early detection. Contact us to find out more. Because the opportunity you’re looking for in these troubled times may be as simple as saying "Just breathe!"

Yours truly,
John