Clean

Chapter 6CREATING A SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT PIPELINE

The ideals I had in mind in forming the Company were to develop products in the field of chemistry of such high quality and efficiency as would win his approval, loyalty, and continued use of them, and to serve his interests in every way possible.

—MJ Osborn

We go to hospitals to heal, but, ironically, far too many of us get sicker while there. Healthcare acquired infections (HAIs) have nasty names such as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and E. coli, each leading to pain, suffering, and, too often, early mortality. Perhaps the most famous is Clostridioides difficile, also known as C-diff, the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and one of the most common HAIs around the world.¹ C-diff alone infects over a half-million patients in US hospitals each year, and almost 30,000 (6%) will die. For comparison, the mortality rate for COVID-19 came in at 1.1%.² For those over 65, C-diff will kill 1 out of 11, or 9%, who contract the disease. C-diff adds 2.4 million patient days in US hospitals per year at a cost of an additional $6.3 billion; the total for all HAIs runs to almost $29 billion annually.³

C-diff preys on those who have recently taken antibiotics that wipe out healthy probiotics in the digestive and intestinal track, and the bacteria thrives in the fecal matter of those infected. The most common vector for spread is unwashed hands, whether a healthcare worker, family member, or other visitor.