Read the Conversation
EF: What attracted you to take on the role of General Manager at Wiener Lab?
HB: Wiener Lab is an extremely intriguing business. Being Latin American and founded in Rosario, Argentina, our origin is an uncommon one in this sector. Working for a large firm may make it easier to succeed, yet, starting in a much smaller company with lots of promise and possibilities can also be advantageous, because it gives you a lot more opportunities to interact with clients and customers and showcase the worth of your proposal in those markets. Wiener Lab has a great possibility of succeeding among all the major players, and that is the main reason why I wanted to work with them.
We started working with smaller volume labs, and are now working with mid and high-level clients since 2023. Wiener Lab is coming from a niche market to take on the likes of Abbott, Roche, and the rest of the big five, and I am proud to say that we can compete with them in several respects. Currently, clinical chemistry is our area of expertise; we deal in immunology, coagulation, and hematology, and we are currently in the very early stages of molecular biology. We are working on highly differentiated tests, for Chagas, for example, which is a disease that is rather common in South America, and we are leaders in that area.
EF: How did Wiener Lab perform last year, and what are your goals for 2024?
HB: Wiener Lab has many offices around Latin America, including in Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Chile, México, Argentina, and Uruguay, and the company operates in more than thirty-five countries. The group as a whole experienced double-digit growth last year, with lower double-digit growth in Mexico where we had been navigating some regulatory issues. We are currently working to complete our menu portfolio. We have this as one of our top priorities for this year and once achieved, we will be positioned to gain a higher market share. Overall, last year we grew at double the rate of the market, which is very interesting, but we have a lot of pressure to grow and our goal for this year is to increase by another 25%.
EF: Could you share an aspect of your portfolio about which you are particularly excited?
HB: We have a considerable opportunity to grow in immunology. As we face competition from several Asian and Chinese businesses, our key strategy for differentiating ourselves will be through our excellent customer service. I have been working on this since I joined in 2023 with the goal of improving our customer service experience. I genuinely think that in this kind of industry, customer service is something that must be prioritized, and this is something I aim to bring to the table for my clients. It might be possible to request adjustments from a company in terms of technology or pricing, but if there is insufficient customer service, something like this could be impossible or at least very complicated. I increased our customer service staff twofold, and we plan to continue moving forward with this approach in the upcoming years.
EF: How are the newest generation of medical professionals and other industry professionals incorporating new digital tools and methods of operation in their respective fields?
HB: It is interesting to note that in Mexico there are a lot of local laboratories. Even though we have big chains of labs like Salud Digna and Chopo, for example, there are laboratories on which small towns and cities rely, which is not common practice in other countries. The issue that these small labs had was that they needed to advance their technology in order to remain competitive. In contrast with the past, when they were conducting manual testing, now these local labs have fully automated equipment and can compete with larger labs in both quality and quantity.
Nowadays, they can afford instruments that are updated, interconnected, and supported, so all chemists have the chance to get the technology they require at a cost they can afford, and Wiener Lab is there to help them scale. Although the number of patients they see each day is small—between 20 and 50—if they perform well, we can help them grow with even better technology. For example, we recently launched the new CM series, a clinical chemistry instrument that enables chemists to carry specialized reagents in their instruments to support the reliability and quality they require. This tool reduces the chance of a bad result and thus increases the likelihood that the lab will be qualified and certified. As a further example of how Wiener Lab can help support volume labs, we have also recently introduced new software for Laboratory Instrumentation Systems in Latin America and a Quality Information System.
EF: What strategic significance does Mexico have for Wiener Lab, both in terms of LATAM’s perception of the company and its competitive positioning?
HB: Despite Mexico having the second-largest economy in Latin America, Wiener Lab Mexico needs to keep up with Brazil, and we don’t yet have the size that we are capable of attaining within the group. In Mexico, we have a favorable opportunity for this type of business. The challenge with the Big Five businesses' typical growth strategy is the intense price pressure found in high-volume markets. Approximately 70–75 percent of the total market is business from the government in those categories. You can therefore understand the strain on earnings if you are a large company that depends on charging low prices for 75% of your sales. Because we have a very balanced portfolio with 50% of sales coming from the government and 50% from the private sector, this pricing dilemma is something Wiener Lab is not yet struggling with.
While the government sectors are working on offering greater prices on items, the private sector makes good profits. This is significant because, since we are flexible and have strong engineering support, we can offer differential pricing in government sales. When dealing with the government, this enables lower prices than those of the Big Five. We are attempting to address this, despite the low volume. In the past year, for IMSS, we were able to install the first four instruments that are in direct competition with these large corporations. Even if we're not there yet, we can obtain a portion of the market in some interesting places and continue growth there.
EF: Typically, 4–5% of an institution's budget goes into diagnostics, and 60–70% of spending decisions are made based on that budget. Have you observed any modifications to diagnostics' place in the healthcare system as a result of the paradigm shift away toward early detection and prevention?
HB: There are many ways in which diagnostics has gained relevance, but the first that comes to mind is the ability to take diagnostics outside of the lab. Before the pandemic, point-of-care technology was only visible in laboratories. However, the pandemic changed this, as evidenced by the several pharmacy chains and supermarkets that are currently collaborating with labs, including Walmart. Although we haven't witnessed this in Mexico, similar situations have occurred in other countries such as the United States. This is significant, as it has improved accessibility in a variety of markets which do not have a laboratory close by. This is something that is offered for low- and mid-income markets but has made a big impact in diagnostics.
The second thing I would say about the shift in diagnostics is that, despite its continued complexity, it has taken the forefront in healthcare. The obligations of the doctor to order the right test at the right time are considerably more clearly defined. In my former roles, we emphasized that the failure of antimicrobials will be the second cause of death in 2050. The majority of companies are working with this in mind; appropriate testing is crucial in all contexts, whether you're talking about a pharmacy, hospital, or a regular chain lab.
Access to all types of testing, primarily on molecular biology, would be the third change I have seen. In Mexico, molecular biology held a relatively tiny market share four years ago; since then, it has doubled. The tools that were used during the pandemic, such as thermocyclers, can be put to use in different applications to boost access.
EF: Why do you think that investing one dollar in Mexico, particularly in diagnostics, is more valuable than investing elsewhere?
HB: Mexico is the fastest-growing country in Latin America and is very strong in terms of the way the healthcare sector is evolving and reliably returning on investments. A dollar invested in Mexico will be better utilized here than anywhere else. We are seeing the resurgence of the idea of nearshoring, due to the United States' approach to locating their manufacturing plants; we have a lot of competitors making long-term plans to have manufacturing plants on the border. Medical devices became a key industry after the pandemic, and I can assure you that this upward growth, combined with Mexico’s strong economy, makes diagnostics one of the best ways to invest your money.
EF: What three ingredients make Mexico a life-science powerhouse and a hub for innovation?
HB: As I mentioned earlier, being near the United States and having a nearshoring opportunity is helping Mexico on its journey to become a hub for innovation. Our proximity to the US will allow us access to better-quality professionals in manufacturing professions such as engineering, specifically chemical and industrial engineering. Talent is key. The second ingredient would be the improved labor conditions in these types of industries brought about by nearshoring, and the third would be the partnership between our companies and universities to promote fellowships, entrepreneurship, inventions, and the incubation of new companies and ideas.
Talent, collaborations with academia and the industry, and improving labor conditions in medical device manufacturing will all be key steps to seizing opportunities and transforming Mexico into an innovation hub.
EF: How are you attracting the younger generation into the healthcare industry? How do you maintain a happy work environment at Wiener Lab?
HB: I recently published an article precisely about how you can manage to work with the three generations that are currently in the labor force. The youngest generation is the most difficult part of the human resources pyramid. We need to create an appealing work environment for them and provide them with mentorship. I try to put young people in key positions such as customer service, engineering, and in educational positions like teaching chemists how our instruments work.
There are young engineers and chemists who are willing to commit to the industry, and when they leave university, they have two career paths: going into the industry or committing to the clinical side of things. I try to make these young professionals believe in the industry and the opportunities that they can have here. We are still a growing company, and the appeal that we have is being the learning ground for those types of careers, where people can gain experience and make their profiles more well-rounded and complete.
I believe in upskilling talent for bigger opportunities, and I encourage a collaborative environment; you must depend on others and learn from everyone around you.
EF: How would you rebuild trust in the Mexican healthcare system?
HB: One of the key topics at AMIIF meetings is ethics and compliance, and we are committed to being a role model for other companies in Mexico. This is one of our short-term and long-term goals and something that is highlighted at all our meetings.
As a council member, one of the key elements we can control is being more responsible; ethics is one of the cornerstones for building trust in the market. A company that responsibly approaches the market and healthcare professionals while respecting the way they do business will succeed, so one of the key elements we can bring to the table to build trust is our commitment to doing things right.
EF: As a growth-focused executive, what guidance would you offer to someone wishing to establish and grow a company in Mexico?
HB: You need to establish strong relationships with all the stakeholders you have at hand; it is crucial in our industry to locate the appropriate association that you can rely on, and in our case that association would be AMID. I have been following AMID since the beginning and I would say that now is a time when diagnostic companies have the most influence in this association. In the medical device sector, diagnostics is growing in importance and is playing a crucial role in social healthcare, and the government is really putting a spotlight on us and what we are doing in the field. I think more people will use the integrated services that are currently in place in Mexico in the upcoming years.
My advice would be to network, build relationships, and surround yourself with the most talented people you can. This is not about money, it is about having a correct assessment and finding the right talent for these types of services. I am pro-people: Empower your employees and help them understand the responsibility they have in their everyday job. If they do a good job, that means a patient receives the right testing, and that patient can be safer.
EF: You are going to celebrate one year at Wiener Lab as the General Manager. What are you going to celebrate?
HB: I just received some good news that in the last organizational survey, we were able to increase most of the metrics, and we are just about to be certified as a great place to work. I am pretty sure we will get this certification in 2024. This is something that excites me because this is what I work for trying to create environments where people feel safe, happy, and productive. Being certified is something that makes you feel proud, and this is something worth celebrating.
