With over three decades of  experience in the diagnostics business, Larry Cohen believes clear and direct communication is one of his strongest leadership strengths. “Soliciting input and listening carefully to professionals inside and outside the organization helps guide planning and decision-making” says Cohen, CEO of Glycotest Diagnostics. Known as one of the seminal leaders in the  industry, Cohen has a large industry network to tap; he has led several companies in the healthcare arena over his 30-year career. His innovative approach to delivering better patient outcomes utilizing novel clinical testing has helped him steer Glycotest, a private liver disease diagnostics company, to early success.

Meeting Challenges

“I believe the healthcare industry must do a better job in educating healthcare professionals and patients on the value delivered by new and innovative products,” says Cohen. When outcomes are measured and the quality of life is included in the equation, innovation can often be shown as a cost-saving tool.  Especially, in the diagnostics sector, where products and services tend to be undervalued against the benefits they provide, we need greater emphasis and attention paid — this is usually a very small part of the overall financial cost of managing a patient’s condition. Early detection of disease allows patients to get the appropriate treatment faster and improve outcomes.

Abiding by the same principle, Glycotest has developed its flagship technology— the HCC Panel.

Meeting the Unmet

The HCC Panel includes common core biomarkers, driven by a proprietary algorithm, that detect early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)—the most common form of primary liver cancer.  If detected early, HCC can be cured. “There is a large and growing market both in the U.S. and globally of patients with Chronic Liver Disease, a rapidly growing number of patients with Fatty Liver Disease and another group with NASH,” notes Cohen. “All these patients are at a higher risk for developing cancer. We designed the HCC Panel with biomarkers and an algorithm to detect early-stage liver cancer, this is superior to currently available, widely used tests and has the potential to address current unmet diagnostic needs.