WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!

Yap Ching Chew, Ph.D., is COO of Pangea Laboratory a diagnostics company focused on the precise, early detection of emerging diseases. Its mission is to have a positive impact on human life by providing medical communities with the data they need to diagnose and treat diseases. Pangea Laboratory provides reliable, high-quality testing services to biomedical communities. The company’s tests include a COVID-19 test; Bladder CARE, a qPCR test for bladder cancer detection using urine samples; and PrecisionBIOME, a next-generation microbial test that can detect and identify all bacterial and fungal pathogens in a clinical specimen together with antibiotic susceptibilities – all in one test. Pangea is CLIA-Certified and CAP accredited and surpasses the standards of diagnostic testing. All specimens are processed at the company’s U.S. laboratory. Yap joined Pangea, in 2015, as a Director, and became COO in November 2020. In addition, Yap has also worked for Zymo Research Corporation, a globally established biotechnology company and industry leader in the fields of epigenetics, microbiomics, and the emerging Next-Gen Sequencing space. At Zymo, Yap has been a Scientist, since 2012, and Director of Epigenetics Technologies, since mid-2014. Yap has joined the Orange County Round Table.

Barry Clark is Founder, President and CEO of WestFax, Inc., which operates the largest TDM fax platform on earth with multiple data centers. WestFax is a Secure Cloud Fax and Document Workflow company, which offers HIPAA-compliant Cloud Fax services through the WestFax online portal, the company’s API, and mobile apps. WestFax continues to innovate though Direct Message Protocol ready document capture, OCR, and managed document workflow. Customers come from nearly every major healthcare company in the Fortune 100 to a single-line mobile app user. In 1999, countless people told WestFax that FAX as a medium was going away. But WestFax is living proof of the power of secure document transport. Today they’ve moved well beyond the traditional fax machine into new and creative ways to securely send and receive documents and the company is prepared for whatever tomorrow brings. WestFax is headquartered in Denver, CO, with additional offices in California, Florida, and Washington State. Barry has experience in fax, telecom, medical document transport, OCR and AI Extraction, MFP integration, mobile app development, M&A, B2B sales, offshore manufacturing, import, and non-profit board leadership. Barry has also joined the Orange County Round Table.

Nick Focil is CEO of FOMAT Medical Research, which he has led through its expansion to being a top Integrated Research Organization in the U.S. With 10+ years of participating in Phase 1-4 clinical trials in a variety of therapeutic areas, FOMAT relies on a highly experienced clinical research team with the expertise necessary to assist Sponsors and Contract Research Organizations in reaching their project goals quickly and effectively. Nick is also the Co-Founder and Chairman of Febo Health, a Health ToolBox used globally by chronic condition patients to help make life a little bit easier. Febo is the first mobile application to offer several condition-management tools as well as the most current news and findings surrounding a patient’s condition(s). Also, Nick sits on the board of hyperCORE International, a super network of highly experienced and awarded clinical trial sites working together to accelerate and advance clinical research, in which FOMAT is a partner. Earlier in his career, Nick was recruited by the Medtronic MiniMed Diabetes division to operate pre-pivotal trials and, shortly after, became the Managing Director of Diverse Research Solutions tasked with expanding clinical research operations in the U.S. Nick has joined the Los Angeles Round Table.

Jack Higgins, MD, is President and Chief Medical Officer of Global Telehealth Network (GTN), which he founded in 2015. A nonprofit that recruits physician volunteers to evaluate and treat patients located in medically underserved areas using a web-based video communication system, GTN enables physicians to use computers in their offices or homes to treat patients virtually anywhere. GTN partners with other NGOs working in underserved areas, and can also help in disaster areas, war-torn regions, and more. Jack is also currently President of RotaCare Bay Area since 2020, and has served on its Board of Directors since 2000. RotaCare is a nonprofit that operates 10 free clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area, where volunteer MDs and nurses provide free medical care for people who have no insurance and cannot afford to pay. Previously, Jack was CMO at Avantis Medical Systems, a medical device company based in Silicon Valley. He also trained physicians in the U.S., Europe, and Japan to use the devices and supported investigators in five countries as they conducted clinical research studies involving them. Still earlier, Jack practiced Family Medicine in Chico, CA area for 20 years. Jack has joined the Silicon Valley Round Table.

UPCOMING ABL HEALTHCARE ROUND TABLES

• 5/04 – Orange County ZOOM Table – Discussion Topic: “Overcoming Healthcare Career Obstacles” – Featured Member Presenter: Dan Forche, President & CEO of Prelude Corporation
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• 5/10 – Silicon Valley ZOOM Table – Discussion Topic: “Is the Healthcare Market Still Hot? led by Mike McKinnon, M&A Partner, Sheppard Mullin” – Featured Member Presenter: Lisa Cooper, CEO, Santa Cruz Surgery Center and Principal of Advocare+
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• 5/11 – Bay Area (SF) ZOOM Table – Discussion Topic: “So, How Does Kaiser Permanente Set Its Prices Anyway?” – Featured Member Presenter: Marcos Vasconcelos, Executive Director, Strategic Market Planning & Execution at Kaiser Permanente Health Plan
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• 5/19 – Bay Area (OAK) ZOOM Table – Discussion Topic: “Dealing with Inflation’s Impact on Healthcare”
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• 5/20 – Los Angeles ZOOM Table – Discussion Topic: “Is the Healthcare Market Still Hot?” – Featured Guest Member Presenter: Mike McKinnon, M&A Partner in the Corporate Practice Group of Sheppard Mullin
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Mimi Grant’s Vlog:

To Boost or Not to Boost: That Is THE Question

In response to several ABL Tech Members’ musings about whether or not they should get a second COVID booster, Mimi dived into the research. In this video, she reveals the FAQs – and answers – she came up with.

CLICK HERE to watch Mimi’s 4:32-minute vlog.

BLOG by Mimi Grant, President of ABL Organization

Answers to Some FAQs on “To Boost or Not to Boost?”

At a recent ABL Technology Round Table, several fully-vaxxed and boosted Members questioned the urgent need to roll up their sleeves for another booster. Turns out, Tech CEOs aren’t the only ones questioning the need for a second one, some highly placed Advisors to the FDA and CDC are, too.

Far from being anti-vaxxers, several of our Members raised thoughtful concerns that prompted me to do a deeper dive into the medical literature. So here are the top eight FAQs – that you might consider before getting your second booster.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF MIMI’S POST.