Inside PathoGenius™ Laboratories , LLC.

  Wound diagnostic services, which leverage DNA analysis, are now available to wound care clinicians.PathoGenius™ Laboratories, headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, is a state of the art CLIA and CAP certified. The company was founded by clinicians, as a selfless endeavor to help their patients. The current focus is to provide the same services to clinicians and patients nationwide.

  Today’s Wound Clinic recently had the opportunity to speak with John P. Kennedy, RPh, PHD, Clinical Advisor at PathoGenius™ Laboratories, LLC. Kennedy, who has been with PathoGenius™ for the last two years, offers an insightful look at the company’s mission and goals.

Today’s Wound Clinic (TWC): How long have you personally been in the wound care section of healthcare and how did you get into this area of specialty?

John P. Kennedy (JPK): Collectively I have been in wound care for 10 years. However, my career started as a researcher in the pharmaceutical industry. I did not have a direct link to wound care in big pharma, unless you consider antibiotics, but I did get a relatively strong background in cancer pathology. As it turned out, many of the same biological signals and pathways are involved in inhibiting tissue growth (cancer) as promoting tissue growth (wounds); therefore that experience has proven to be more relevant than I would have anticipated. I began my wound care experience in 2000, when I began to research wound healing to guide my work with biomaterials for the development of novel wound dressings in the device industry. In 2006, I started working more in academia. Coming full circle, I now had the opportunity to work again as a clinician, but with a wound care focus, while continuing my pursuits in wound care research. While at my academic post, I have focused my clinical and research efforts on biofilm based wound care strategies.
In summary, my path to wound care was not charted. However, I appreciate the diversity that has provided me the foundation to approach wound healing barriers from multiple perspectives.

TWC: What would you say PathoGenius™ Laboratories role is in the wound care clinic setting? What products or services do you provide?

JPK: Our role is clear: The comprehensive diagnoses of microbial contribution to poor healing trajectories based on microbial DNA analysis. The leaps in accuracy, speed and comprehensive analysis that PathoGenius™ has brought to microbial identification in wound care has astounded me. Chronic wounds are polymicrobial and complex. As it turns out, traditional culture based diagnostic testing has an accuracy of only about 15% for such wounds. Through the diagnostic tools developed by PathoGenius™, we now have a complete picture of what we are dealing with on the wound surface with DNA level certainty. It’s changing the game for our patients, as well as my own biased strategies ingrained over years of erroneous information.

Services:
• Rapid microbial quantitative detection.
• Detection of microbial resistance factors.
• Comprehensive analysis including bacteria, yeast and fungi.
• Clinical consults and interpretation.

TWC: What would you say makes PathoGenius™ Laboratories unique?

JPK: First, clinical experience: Our diagnostic tools have been leveraged and honed through clinical practice for almost three years. PathoGenius™ was founded by clinicians to solve the unmet needs of real patients, just like those of your readers.

  Second, total solution: The merits of our DNA level comprehensive diagnostics do not end with detection. We want to provide a total bioburden solution. Through collaborating clinicians and research organizations, wound care providers utilizing PathoGenius™ services have live access to real time treatment consults provided by licensed clinicians that leverage the latest research in biofilm infection treatment options. These treatment options include multiple systemic and topical options, to be employed at the discretion of the wound care provider. The current literature touts that DNA guided patient specific treatments are the future of modern medicine. The PathoGenius™ diagnostic has made such therapy available today for patients suffering from chronic wounds and the clinicians who serve them. The future is now, and it’s exciting to see wound care in many respects leading a changing paradigm in medicine.

  Third, research: Our diagnostic methods are backed with years of experience researching and treating chronic infections. The team at PathoGenius™ is uniquely prepared to educate and support clinicians
treating chronic infections. Clinicians that utilize our services are assured that we can support them beyond detection, as we are well published and known for our work in wound care, especially relative to biofilms and chronic infection.

TWC: Please tell our readers one key aspect of PathoGenius™ Laboratories that you would like them to know about.
JPK: I am answering this one solely as a practicing clinician. If your readers simply try the service and utilize the associated treatment consults, I am confident that they will witness a significant impact on healing trajectories within 10 patients, most probably in only 5 patients. It’s that significant a game changer. It has been the most rewarding clinical development of my career.

TWC: Please describe the mission/vision of your company and any of your goals that you would like to highlight.

JPK: Our mission is simple and unwavering. To transfer the benefits of molecular based wound diagnostics, including the patient specific treatment options they empower, from our clinics to clinicians around the world.

TWC: Looking ahead, what are some incentives the company is working on for beyond 2010?

JPK:
• Expansion of our rapid detection panels.
• Expanding our research for identification of biofilm based treatment
options.
• Adding inflammation components to our diagnostic reports.
• Expanding our bioinformatics scope.
• Identifying global partners to make these solutions available
outside the US.

TWC: Are there any trends in wound care that you and your executives are monitoring closely?

JPK:
• Inflammation markers and their links to bioburden.
• All biofilm based research.
• The role of steroids in chronic wounds.

TWC: We continue to see increases in the amount of wound care clinics that open each year as well as rising numbers of wound care patients. How will this affect how PathoGenius Laboratories operates its business in the future?

JPK: Competition will drive the need for clinics to differentiate themselves with technology. A collaboration with PathoGenius will do just that. Therefore, we see this trend as an opportunity to grow our partnerships with clinics desiring a tangible competitive advantage. The supply of experienced clinicians, especially with regard to advanced techniques, may become constrained as competition among clinics for experience providers increases. Services that empower objective, readily adoptable diagnostic/treatment protocols will be increasingly desirable as wound care paradigms shift from “art” to science, especially those that can provide clinical expertise and support behind such services.

TWC: How can wound care clinicians get in touch with a representative to learn more about your company and products?

JPK: Contact the service laboratories directly at (806) 771-1134 and our webpage is www.pathogenius.com. For urgent clinical questions Kennedy can be reached at kennedy@pathogenius.com and a consulting clinician will contact them directly.