Hope everyone is doing well and is safe and healthy. I never thought this day would get here. Like many of you, the thought of getting back to some sense of normalcy seemed so far away. For over a year, I continued to write about the pandemic at the end of my blog. I am happy to say the time has come to stop posting this information. I could not be more thrilled! I am happy to say that all of our team has received both vaccine shots. Changes will be coming to BioSurfaces at the end of this month. By the time the next blog hits, we will have removed the mask restrictions for our team, the first time in over a year. It will be nice to be able to see everyone’s smiling face again and meet in person more to celebrate birthdays or events. For our team members that want to continue to use a mask, we will have those available for them. It will take a while to go back toward our previous normal but we will get there. Our job is to make everyone feel comfortable no matter what they choose to do. Our team never once questioned the policy we put into place. Some things may stay in place like wiping down surfaces every night (we’ll now have the common cold to deal with now that the masks are gone – I didn’t miss it), Zoom calls and the ability to work some hours from home.
It is nice to see that some sense of normalcy is beginning to return, not just here but around the country as well. In Massachusetts, over 70% of the adults have received at least one vaccination shot. This is amazing since we started so poorly. Shows what good leadership and determination of people in the state can accomplish. This pandemic from the beginning was somehow turned into a political statement. Health of the people should never have been an “us versus them.” It should have been an “us versus COVID.” Our state has a Republican governor and Democratic legislature. I am so proud to be from a state where two different parties can work together for the common good. It’s not perfect but they find a way to make it work. Many states in our country should learn from this example. As for businesses, this is a time to assess what worked during the pandemic and implement changes. It is long overdue. Even being a biotech company, there are changes that we are making. There will be some occupations where changes cannot be made, but whatever can be done should be done to use technology to our advantage.
I have always said that I would be upfront about the company and I have never veered from that promise. I have to say that it has been an extreme rollercoaster these past few weeks, from having some potential business opportunities begin to go sideways while other opportunities have either appeared or continued to move forward. That doesn’t take away from the buzz I mentioned in the last blog. We are seeing more opportunities being presented, more than at any other point in time. Still, nothing will stress my nerves more than the unknown. I should be used of it since I’ve been doing this for so long, but as you get older, it tends to grate on you a little more. I know most people have that fear of the unknown so I’m not alone on that front. This gets amplified when you have a team of people depending on you, adding that much more pressure. Deals never get done as fast as you want them to and when working with big companies, it is like dealing with an uncoordinated giant that could fall at the smallest step. The risks of tripping up are far outweighed by the potential upsides of working with these companies. Our technology would be a game-changer for these companies (my biased opinion) and getting them to see that can be the biggest challenge since there are so many layers to go through. We also do not exaggerate what our technology can do and what we think its value is. I see so many companies projecting that they will make billions of dollars while not having anywhere near that potential, but the deal makers LOVE a big upside even if it isn’t based in reality. I believe BioSurfaces has significant upside but we will never make up a scenario that is not based in reality. I guess that is why they are getting millions and millions of dollars in investment and I get motion sickness from the rollercoaster. I want to do this the right way. The people that decide to work with us will benefit from this technology. I am excited to continue to implement our plan to move the company forward.
Unlike the business side, the research and manufacturing divisions are slightly more consistent. Mind you, they are not perfect and they have their own trials, but they are a lot less of a rollercoaster. Our research programs continue to generate new and exciting data for different areas ranging from our 3D scaffolds for tissue models and use of our Bio-Spun™ materials for targeted cell delivery to providing a new substrate for a consumer product. Manufacturing continues to support the research effort by providing the tools required for these programs while we get ready for our next foray which will be manufacturing one of our products. We continue to work with our partners to move several of these products towards approval. A lot of work goes into these areas but it will be worth it in the long run. It will provide the company “many shots on goal” in order to have continued success.
Hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend! See you back here on June 4th!
Matt