Nondemics - enabling a global defense system against pathogen threats

A platform that enables and incentivizes the medical diagnostics ecosystem to collaborate at unprecedented scale and speed in response to pathogen threats.

Mr. Catalin Cighi - CEO of Nondemics

A Systemic Problem [...]

When responding to a pathogen threat, humankind (2020: 7.8bn) is at a disadvantage caused by limited access to timely diagnostics intelligence. 

One major reason for this limitation is the fragmented global state of our medical laboratory diagnostics ecosystem.

Achieving a higher state of integration, however temporary, requires significant energy expenditure (time, money, knowledge, commitment, etc.).

And such energy expenditure can only happen if we overcome the real limitations to humankind’s ability and willingness to engage in a unified effort.

Ability to act as one

• Technical challenges -> interoperability
• Mobility challenges -> borders, logistics, rigidity
• Legal challenges -> incompatibility of jurisdictions
• Education challenges -> talent scarcity and low digital literacy
• Innovation challenges -> co-innovation imperatives
• Financial Challenges -> scarce resources, unevenly distributed 

Willingness to act as one

• Geo-Politics -> we don’t all play well together
• National-interest -> competition between sovereign states
• Personal Agendas -> incentives to collaborate not strong enough 
• Perceived loss -> threats to individual privacy and autonomy
• Culture & Identity -> us v. them divisions, lack of trust
• Human Nature -> greed, pride, bounded rationality

Any solution that seeks to enable humankind to respond to a pathogen threat with unprecedented speed and scale will have to solve both categories of limitation.

Platform participants benefit from positive network effects:

Service Providers (B2B)

1. Extra revenues from access to more patients
2. Capacity increase and cost reduction through process innovation
3. Time saved and errors eliminated through data handling automation
4. Subcontracting across jurisdictions optimized
5. Mutual support facilitated in times of crisis

Population (B2C)

1. Exposure and transmission minimization through individual empowerment
2. Protection from misinformation and education about pathogen threats via information presented in a non-politicized, scientific yet accessible way
3. Access to the best-fit diagnostic options at the right time in the right way
4. Reassurance about their own safety and that of their loved ones

Public Health Authorities (B2G)

1. Produce data for smart public health decisions
2. Predict outbreaks through early warning systems
3. Coordinate evidence-based rapid response plans
4. Redistribute diagnostics burden in real-time to decongest system
5. Protect vulnerable populations

Suppliers (S2B)

1. Access to clients and new markets
2. Access to new tech direct from IP owners
3. Streamline flows of medical products, especially to disconnected communities

Research and Development Institutions + Academia (A2B)

1. Facilitate multidisciplinary coordination among practitioners and academics
2. Provide open source datasets (as a public good) via research modules for labs/patients
3. Conduct and share own research into the economic, behavioral, and emotional implications of global health emergencies

• To incentivize participation in our marketplace, we’ve made provisions for the creation of public goods and services.

Population

• Free access to marketplace for diagnostic services
• Free pathogen-related education and knowledge base
• Free decision tools, online scheduling, payment and reporting
• Free digital certificate solution offering one-click booking of needed tests
• Free, unobtrusive and preventative tool to avoid exposure to pathogens

Public Health Authorities

• Free use of innovative diagnostics process for vulnerable populations
• Free access to the control dashboard visualizing threat emergence
• Automation of certain rapid response protocols for coordinated action
• Data and evidence-based insights for critical decisions about public health and safety

Research and Development Institutions

• Datasets for Open Science from the normal course of our operations
• Creation of custom datasets using our research modules

Our impact so far:

Labs (B2B)

Nondemics processes resulted in 5X increase in sample collection capacity and up to 2X increase in testing capacity, the elimination of human error in data handling, and in additional revenues due to the ease of subcontracting. Overall, labs increased profits.

People (B2C)

Nondemics proprietary algorithms ensured people got the tests that best matched their needs. Online data handling, booking and payment minimized time spent in a testing facility, reducing exposure to risk by up to 5x. Overall, people enjoyed better outcomes.

Public Health Authorities (B2G)

Nondemics managed the testing of vulnerable populations for >15k tests, delivering results in <12h compared to >7 days. We are now developing custom dashboards as a public good that should help health authorities become overall more effective.

As we add sides to our marketplace:

• Suppliers (S2B) get better distribution.

• Innovators (A2B) get to market faster.

• Co-innovations become possible: NextGen mobility solutions, digital travel certifications

• Sectors such as aviation, travel and tourism, lodging and restaurants can reopen sooner

As we scale the marketplace globally, the entire medical diagnostics ecosystem becomes better integrated and it enables us to act as one against pathogens, saving lives and preserving livelihoods.

We’re scaling on five dimensions:

Mission Scaling:

We started creating the commercial side of the solution as a prerequisite for the global defense system we envision:

• Multi Vendor Marketplace since Sep 2020, to mature by 2025
• Global Readiness Network achievable by 2040 (without help)

Marketplace Scaling: 

We’ll add sides to the marketplace following our MarketScalingStrategy_01pattern. Since scaling is triggered by the achieving of specific performance metrics, we expect different sides of the marketplace to scale at different speeds in different geographies.

• Medical Laboratories (B2B) since Sep 2020
• Population / Patients (B2C) launch 2021 Q3
• Public Health Authorities (B2G) launch 2022 Q1
• Suppliers (S2B) launch 2023 Q1
• Innovators (A2B) launch 2025 Q1

Geographic Scaling: 

Following a path of least [geopolitical] resistance defined in GeoScalingStrategy_1.0, subject to course corrections as the world context changes:

• Romania since Sep 2020
• Gateway Cities between 2022-23
• Path to global from 2023 onward

Service Scaling: 

To ensure the marketplace creates value during and after a pandemic:

• RT-PCR detection of SARS-COV-2 since Sep 2020
• Subcontracting Rare Tests after current pandemic subsides
• All pathogen detection Tests before Global Readiness Network activates

New Venture Design: 

Cross-sector co-innovations (e.g. NextGen Mobility) and spin-off Solutions for Labs (e.g. NextGenLIS)

We measure impact on six dimensions:

• The specific value created for each of the five sides of the marketplace (patients, labs, public health authorities, suppliers and innovators)

• The world at large (the lives and livelihoods impacted by the existence of one global defense system against pathogens)

For each of the above there are four categories of metrics:

Coverage metrics - the number of market participants / network nodes that are listed, actively participating, and committed to act as one when the need arrises

(E.g., #collection points, #sentinel_labs, #reference_labs, #national_labs, #equipment_extraction, #equipment_amplification, #doctors, #nurses, #patients etc.)

Connection metrics - the number of relationships formalized in between market participants / links in between network nodes that will make collaboration possible

(E.g., #APIs_implemented, #LIS_connected, #subcontracting_agreements, #support_agreements, #transport_agreements, #co-innovation_projects, #funding_agreements etc.)

Capacity Metrics - depicting the ability of each node to contribute specific actions to the marketplace / the number and nature of flows of materials, data or capital

(E.g., #education_capacity, #production_capacity, #distribution_capacity, #collection_capacity, #testing_capacity, #data_handling_capacity, #subcontracting_capacity, #transport_capacity, etc.)

Performance Metrics - quantifying number and type of results, as well as ratios, averages and aggregates that help monitor the performance of the marketplace & GDS

(E.g., #pathogens_identified, #infections_detected, #pacients_served, #samples_subcontracted, %tests_ontime, %lab_cost_reduced, av.time_waiting, av.time_result)

Three of our daily hurdles are: 

Educational Barriers

Scarcity of talent and lack of basic digital literacy are at alarming levels. Process automation and digital tools allow us to get some jobs done with fewer, less educated people. But the only long term solution is an ecosystem-wide revamping of our approach to education and we expect to reinvest 25% into digital literacy in healthcare. 

Technical Barriers

We’re initially building a library of APIs to connect the members of the ecosystem. To solve the long term challenge,  we’ve started developing a next generation laboratory information system to increase the value of the marketplace and to enable critical functionalities of the global readiness network.

Political Barriers

Building across multiple fragmented jurisdictions and tackling multiple legal frameworks is challenging. But even more difficult will be to overcome opposition from interest groups who benefit from the fragmented status of our ecosystem. We will need significant help in this matter.

Please revisit our problem definition for a longer list of barriers we must overcome in our mission to enable and motivate global scale collaboration in fighting pathogens.

• Nondemics
• Cain Group
• 50 Chefs
• Technomed
• Vitalab
• Linnify

We applied to MIT Solve primarily to connect with potential sources of support and start a forward-looking, ongoing conversation centered on five questions.

1. Given our solution objectives, are we working on the right things?
2. Given our progress, are we using the right OKRs? 
3. Given our obstacles, are we throwing the right resources into the work?
4. Given our growth plans, what blinds spots can you help us identify?
5. If we align on concept, how might you help us impact (more) people?

To overcome our most stubborn barriers, we specifically ask for:

1. a boost in credibility to shorten our path to market 

2. access to a network of potential co-innovators

3. access to knowledge and guidance on driving policy change

4. support in onboarding collaboration of sovereign states

5. Help in building a digital trust ecosystem to complement the diagnostics ecosystem

6. Help in drafting an International Collaboration Treaty on fighting against pathogens

7. Support in getting something akin to the Vienna Initiative off the ground to infuse capital into the system and fuel a pandemic push when needed

8. Any other support that might increase the chances that our multi stakeholder collaboration solution achieves exceptional scale and speed

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Receiving Mr. Gates’ notes in our inbox was the reason why we first conceived Nondemics in Feb 2020.

Global Virome Project (GVP)

Collaborate in establishing a global surveillance network and a legal, regulatory and ethical framework for sample, data, and benefit sharing.

Patrick J. McGovern Institute

a partnership with Data and Society on matters related to thought-leadership might help us advance tremendously our AI-for-Good agenda.

McKinsey

Help in conducting our pre-mortem analyses and in identifying our most dangerous blind-spots.

LSE

Help in refining our thinking regarding the geopolitical landscape we will have to navigate and the policy changes we would need to lobby for.

Since our ability to partner is our one true competitive advantage against a deadly pathogen, we hope you may consider evaluating the ±300 TTC solutions on a 6th criterion: their ability and willingness to co-innovate. 

Why?

Because a US$10M prize may support ±10 unrelated solutions and create significant good. But imagine the impact you might create if you invested in a nascent ecosystem of ±10 TTC candidates animated by complementary goals and co-innovating in a shared direction enabled by a platform such as Nondemics. Might it be 10x or more?