INDUSTRY INTERVIEW: Z-Medica Corporation

Raymond J. Huey
CEO
Z-Medica Corporation

Raymond J. Huey joined Z-Medica in 2004 as CEO to proactively address a spike in demand for the company’s breakthrough lifesaving product, QuikClot hemostatic agent. He is also leading the company’s efforts for planned growth in existing and future markets. Huey sets the company’s strategic direction, building on the military’s successful adoption of QuikClot for use in Afghanistan and Iraq. Huey brought to Z-Medica broad experience in innovative product development, operations management, executive leadership and quality systems. An engineer by training and a veteran of the medical device industry, Huey led a $150 million division of General Electric Medical Systems, and maintained one of the global giant’s most efficient manufacturing facilities. He is a Master Black Belt in GE’s Six Sigma program.

Q: How would you describe Z-Medica’s position in the marketplace?

A: Z-Medica is the leader in the development and production of advanced hemostatic nano-technologies. Particularly in the military market, we have the most products in the field. We have delivered more than one million units of QuikClot to all branches of the U.S. military since 2002, including a recent shipment of 140,000 units of QuikClot Advanced Clotting Sponge [ACS] to the Army. We are committed to adopting world-class processes and creating the infrastructure necessary to accommodate not only growing military demand, but also continuing growth in the first responder and other markets. We want our products available to all who need them, and we want to keep them affordable for everyone. Our company is serious about our motto that, “The greatest privilege is to make a difference.”

Q: What makes QuikClot unique, and how does it work?

A: Until QuikClot, there has never been a product proven to stop massive arterial or venous bleeding outside of the operating room setting. Without QuikClot, the survival chances of a soldier wounded on the battlefield today are the same as they would have been for a soldier in the Civil War. When poured or packed directly into an open wound, the product acts like a molecular sieve, sifting molecules by size. QuikClot instantly takes in the smaller water molecules from the blood in and around the wound. The larger platelet and clotting factor molecules remain in the wound in a highly concentrated form. This promotes extremely rapid natural clotting and prevents severe blood loss. The process represents a new approach to hemostasis, which typically involves adding clotting factors rather than extracting elements to halt bleeding. QuikClot helps create a stable, powerful clot that stays firmly in place until it is removed in the field hospital or operating room.

Q: Can you explain in detail the role the military has played in your company’s growth?

A: Not only was the military our first customer for QuikClot, but the Office of Naval Research, the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command and the Naval Medical Research Center have been partners in the original comparative testing of QuikClot and newer products including QuikClot ACS. QuikClot ACS is a new formulation and delivery system for the flagship product QuikClot. The new version offers military and first responder users an alternative delivery system and numerous features that improve its ease of use. The evolution of the product is based on field observations and feedback, and Z-Medica’s commitment to continuous research and product improvement.

Q: What is your company’s main objective for the coming year?

A: We are very focused on removing the one usage concern about QuikClot—that it can create a heat-producing mechanical action. Working with military and civilian research, development and testing partners, we are very close to accomplishing this major objective. Once this issue is resolved, we will be able to create products for use in surgical procedures where severe bleeding is an issue and in many other applications in industrial and consumer markets. This achievement will also hasten deployment among first responder units, promising to save many thousands more lives each year. ♦

Back_To_Top