Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founder of HCmed, Jason Cheng this week shares his experience founding and managing HCmed Innovations. After eight years of establishment of the company, Jason talks about his expectations of becoming both a unicorn and a full-service contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), focusing on the development of drug-device combination utilizing our mesh nebulizer platform.
1. What factors have led you to found HCmed?
Before HCmed, I was an engineer that worked with the Apple team in the US. In the technology industry, the products change, and the technology evolves rapidly in a short period of time. Every few months, a new laptop or smartphone is introduced into the market. On the other hand, the product life cycle of a medical device is relatively longer. As I founded HCmed, I have been driven to provide products that could improve people’s lives and focused on translating that through the overall design and usability of our nebulizers. The medical industry allows the team to incorporate their skills more deeply. As we can integrate medical technology in the advanced industrial environment provided by Taiwan, I see the drug-nebulizer combination market as a market full of great potential, motivating me to devote myself fully and make a meaningful revolution in the industry. As other founders and I established HCmed, we have defined the development of drug-nebulizer combination products as our core business, positioning ourselves as a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for inhalation treatment drugs. To expand our business and to better understand the drug-nebulizer combination industry, we have attended conferences and applied suggestions from our investors, which helped us not only spot the market trend in advance but also to understand how to plan our business strategies. A lot has changed after I rerouted my career path, and a lot has to be learned after I left Silicon Valley. Still, I believe that with the support from our team and our investors, we can help improve the quality of life of patients with respiratory diseases.
2. With the goal to become a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), what are the main stages of business growth for the company?
After the foundation of HCmed, the management team has worked with our investors to establish three main development stages. During the first stage, HCmed focused on the development of the products, enhancing the company’s exposure in the industry. As we completed our product development, we worked with renowned distributors and experienced companies, expanding the sales network of our mesh nebulizers. After around five years of device development, we expanded our business model and started working with pharmaceutical companies to develop drug-nebulizer combination products — marking the start of our second development stage at which we are now. During this development period, we specialize in developing drug-nebulizer combination by providing analytical services and customizing our devices to optimize drug delivery performance. As a team that aims to strengthen our capabilities in drug-nebulizer combination development, we are continuously enhancing our knowledge of the properties of different drugs and enhancing our expertise in providing suitable nebulizer platforms for different drugs. With these skills and knowledge in hand, we hope to advance to the third stage, expanding our combination development portfolio and becoming a full-service CDMO that co-develops with pharmaceutical companies, providing integrated drug-nebulizer combination products ready for commercialization.
3. As one of the founders of the company, how do you build a team that can help the company grow?
I think one of the keys to helping the company grow continuously is finding the right people. When starting the business, at first, our company was not familiar with how and where to find the needed manpower in the biomedical industry. However, with guidance from our investors, we began to understand how we should strengthen our organizational structure and where to find the best candidates for each position that helps create a strong and successful team. Similar to establishing the development strategy of the company, building a strong team also requires us to clearly know what we are looking for. I believe that every successful recruitment would make a stronger team and help accelerate the growth of our company.
4. As the manager of the company, what opportunities do you foresee for HCmed?
As HCmed keeps on growing and our business keeps expanding, we have received support from major investors and renowned investment companies. Besides becoming one of the leading players in the drug-nebulizer combination industry, we also aspire to become one of the first unicorns in the inhalation therapy industry in Taiwan. Thanks to our innovative technology and our professional team, we can attract investors to support us. These resources become the fuel needed to help us advance even further and to achieve the goal of becoming one of the leading players in the drug-nebulizer combination market. Business-wise, we see more opportunities to incorporate in- and out-licensing strategies with our partners. As we are currently developing drug-device combination products with other companies, we have become very familiar with the capabilities and features of the products, making us an expert in this field. With our knowledge and capabilities, we can work in both in and out licensing partnerships with our partners. Along with a strong team and supportive customers, we hope to keep on expanding our business portfolio and reach unicorn-level success while we work on our way to becoming one of the key players in the inhalation therapy industry.
