Disinfecting Hospitals, Impacting Healthcare: Morris Miller, CEO of Xenex (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: They allowed you to publish the results as well?

Morris Miller: They actually published it in the journal of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. It’s called ICHE. It was very well received and passed peer review. In March of 2011, when we really could begin selling in earnest, we had our prototypes. We sold our prototype devices. The market wanted them. I say it’s a prototype but it wasn’t really a prototype. Compared to what we have now, it looks like a prototype. It was at that point that we started developing our current germ-zapping robot. We launched that into the market in late 2012.

Interestingly, when we began selling these robots, hospitals would ask us, “What do you think we can expect in terms of reduction in infections?” We would say, “We really don’t know. Maybe 5% to 10%.” In our minds, maybe we could prevent 200,000 infections a year. We might be able to save 10,000 lives. Everybody would look at us and say, “That would be amazing.”

The numbers are five times that. The first peer-reviewed outcome study that we got showed up a 53% drop in C. Difficile, which is very deadly. Anecdotally, the doctor mentioned, “We’re also seeing that the cases of C. Difficile that end up remaining in the hospitals are less virulent. They don’t seem to be having the same kind of death rates. It was a double win. In another infections called MRSA, we see 57% sustained reduction. All of those outcomes got published in journals like American Journal of Infection Contol and The International Journal of Infection Prevention. Once we had those, that’s when the market in earnest began adopting the robot and starting to use it.

Sramana Mitra: Today, your solution is a robotic solution?

Morris Miller: Yes.

Sramana Mitra: How many hospitals are you in? How much of the market have you been able to penetrate?

Morris Miller: Conservatively, 250.

Sramana Mitra: If you were to look at the 2 million infected patients, what percentage of that do you think you have reached into?

Morris Miller: From what we could tell, last year the robot was run on about 1.5 million rooms. We can statistically look at it. Unlike mortality, when you give people life, you don’t know it. Based upon the percentage reductions that the hospitals report to us, if the hospitals disinfected 1.5 million rooms, then they would report, if they could, that they prevented 75,000 infections. The hospitals could surmise that they saved 3,750. That was our first full year of sales.

At the end of this year, presumably it should be more than double that number. We can just keep going and going. I talked to Melinda about this. This is the most important business I feel like we’ve ever started because it’s an opportunity, not only to build a great company, but to actually save people’s mothers, aunts, fathers, and grandparents.

Sramana Mitra: It’s a fantastic value proposition. It sounds like you’re running it very well. I imagine it’s heavily venture-funded at this point?

Morrris Miller: Almost all of the original capital we put in ourselves plus $7 million in professional venture capital. We really believe in what we’re doing.

Sramana Mitra: What kind of numbers are you doing now in terms of revenue?

Morris Miller: $20 million plus.

Sramana Mitra: Terrific! Congratulations! It’s a great story. You’re doing something really meaningful and worthwhile. I’m thrilled to hear that that’s how you’re spending your energy and expertise.

Morris Miller: Thank you. I saw that you’re multi-tasking because you sent me a LinkedIn request while we’re talking.

Sramana Mitra: I just did actually.

Morris Miller: I just wanted to say something. Whenever Melinda calls, you can sense the passion in her voice about what she’s doing. If you were to come to the office, that’s the same passion that I’m looking for in anybody who wants to join us. It’s that passion and dedication that makes the difference between these startups booming and not. You have to have the differentiating idea and you have the product, but you can have all that and without the passion, it just won’t go anywhere. I love that passion. If I talk to an entrepreneur and they’re sitting back in their chair, I go, “This is not going to work.”

Sramana Mitra: Awesome. There’s no way you can carry an entrepreneur journey given how much it takes out of you without passion.

Morris Miller: It’s a pleasure to meet you. I love your vision for what you’re doing.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s be in touch. Thank you for your time.

This segment is part 7 in the series : Disinfecting Hospitals, Impacting Healthcare: Morris Miller, CEO of Xenex
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