Thomas Mookken

Background

About Thomas Mookken

A START-UP WAS “BORN” AND RAISED... It has been a privilege to transform personal experience and passion into an enduring public health enterprise in India. In 2005 my newborn son was screened for over 40 metabolic disorders and the tests detected G6PD an Inborn Error of Metabolism (IEM). G6PD can be fatal in rare cases but is very easily treatable. As a parent I quickly realized the benefits of screening infants for IEMs. A simple concept with very powerful implications—detecting and treating disorders before symptoms appear saving countless lives. Screening is mandated in the US and I wanted to ensure that parents of all newborns in India get the same opportunity. Dr. Rohit Cariappa and I moved to India and formed NeoGen Labs in 2006 to offer the First Step Newborn Screening Test. We worked with top global vendors to set up a lab that is benchmarked against the best in the industry. We entered into a Technology Licensing Agreement with PerkinElmer Genomics in the US and have built on this technology over the years. With clarity of vision and strategy we navigated the myriad challenges and ambiguities of the startup environment created a market and are now the leading provider of newborn screening in India with customers in Asia Africa and throughout the Middle East. OUR COMMITMENTS Building on strong product management and marketing experiences in the US I have instilled certain core principles at NeoGen which include: > Exceptional customer focus and service—with commitment to long-term relationships and the highest standards of quality turnaround and responsiveness. > Financial sustainability—NeoGen has been cash-flow positive and profitable every year since FY 2008 and debt-free since FY 2018. > Operational excellence—optimizing processes technologies and inventory and ensuring constant cross-functional alignment. > Win-win ecosystem—working with customers partners vendors and our employee team to achieve outcomes that are beneficial for all.