“Aged 42, unemployed, and with four children at home, I was at a crossroads,” says Nili Tamir, the owner of BMT Bio Marketing, a company that makes, imports and markets home diagnostic kits. “I realized that I had to make a decision: whether to continue looking for a work, or to try a completely new idea.”
Tamir’s path in pharmaceuticals began five years ago. Before that she was a biology teacher. “I was living in the US, working as a teacher. During my last year there, I decided to retrain, and began working at a health products company. Within a year, I had returned to Israel and found work at a pharmaceutical company, and later as products manager at Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:SVNT).”
When Tamir was laid off two years later, she decided to restart as a self-employed person, and began looking for a new niche. “I discovered that Israelis had no control over monitoring their own health,” she said. “We ostensibly live in a modern country that on one hand opposes overuse of antibiotics, and raises people’s awareness of their health, but without allowing them to choose alternatives on the other.”
Tamir quickly had the idea of developing home diagnostic kits for various illnesses. “Today, a person goes to a doctor for a diagnosis, then goes to a lab, waits for an answer, and is sometimes given antibiotics just in case. I realized that if there was a kit to test for sore throat, cholesterol, or fecal blood, it could help people obtain immediate treatment, saving them a lot of time, suffering, and running about. It would also give them the chance to carry out tests in the privacy of their own homes.”
Enthused by her idea, Tamir decided to conduct a market survey. “I studied the availability of such diagnostic kits in Israel and around the world. I was surprised to learn that the Israeli and global markets were still in their infancy. In other words, diagnostic kits existed, but in packages of 25 to 50 that were mainly geared for labs and clinics.”
Tamir decided to implement her idea. She developed a kit for Strep A to diagnose bacteria in the throat. “I bought the chemical components, separated them, repackaged them, and marketed them under a completely new concept,” she explains. “This was a kit for instant diagnosis. Within five minutes, it would diagnose whether Streptococcus A was the cause of inflammation in the throat.”
A month ago, Tamir launched another kit, called "Lab On Time", designed to test for blood in feces. “This is a simple, convenient, and reliable home test. Here too, the results are available within five minutes.”
Tamir kits are current sold at Kupat Holim Meuhedet and Maccabi Healthcare pharmacies, New Pharm Drugstores Ltd., independent pharmacies, NATALI The Israeli Company for Emergency Medical Services, and Bikur Holim Medical Center. The kits cost NIS 33.70 each, with a discount at health funds. “I decided to go sell at cost, because I wanted to provide the market with a real solution, where people could buy these kits in the same that they buy band-aids,” she says.
Tamir is now working on another project under the Lab On Time label. “This is a line of tests, including fatty acid concentrations in red blood cells, the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test, and mononucleosis. The tests will be carried out by a pharmacist at a pharmacy, and the patient will have an answer within five to ten minutes.”
“Globes”: You’re offering tests for illnesses. Isn’t it dangerous for a person to carry out such a test and discover that he or she has cancer?
Tamir: “First of all, blood in stool doesn’t mean cancer, but it’s definitely a warning sign. As far as I’m concerned, even if the kit gives a positive result, and the person frantically runs to the doctor, that’s better than not knowing. This is an early diagnostic warning, and it’s worthwhile even if it indicates a marginal case, because the chances of curing the disease rise.”
What’s you’re biggest problem today?
“The main problem is market education. I’m referring to both doctors and consumers. In my opinion, the new concept of giving ordinary people the responsibility for their own health is the future, but it definitely involves a lot of time and resources.”
Are you making a profit?
“Because I decided to sell at cost, I have no large profit margin. I can tell you that I recouped my initial investment, plus a similar amount invested other goods. You could say that I definitely got a push in the right direction.”
What are your expectations for the future?
“I want to turn Lab On Time into a network that provides fast lab services, with an emphasis on convenient patient health.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 2, 2006