THE PIVOT: When COVID-19 Hit, These Utah Companies Got Out Front Fast.

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going," is apropos of Alterra Medical, ATL Technology, Deseret Laboratories, PolarityTE, and Soft Cell Laboratories, all of whom quickly pivoted operations to respond to COVID-19. Here, in their own words, company executives explain their timely actions.

Alterra Medical: Rapidly Responding to the Critical Need for PPE--Maff Toone, CEO

Alterra Medical was founded on the vision of building a preeminent brand that is synonymous with integrity, ingenuity, and impactful products that improve the lives of both patients and healthcare providers. Combining the agility of a startup with the acumen gained from decades of experience in the medical device industry, our mission is to serve as a trusted partner to innovators, from concept to exit. As a commercialization engine for early- and growth-stage life sciences companies, we leverage our deep clinical expertise and nationwide sales network to de-risk the development life cycle and extract maximum value from the market.

Established in February 2019, Alterra rapidly scaled up a portfolio of differentiated electrophysiology products. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, all elective procedures--including electrophysiology interventions--were halted, putting our core business in jeopardy. Given our global sourcing capability and manufacturing relationships, we were able to mobilize a rapid response to the critical need for personal protective equipment (PPE). We executed a quick pivot to focus on securing and distributing PPE products from reliable, certified suppliers. Among the first steps we took was identifying an FDA-certified, U.S.-based manufacturing facility and converting it to a hand sanitizer plant. Since the emergence of the novel coronavirus, we have supplied over a quarter million gallons of hand sanitizer--along with millions of face masks, gloves, and other PPE-to government agencies, healthcare systems, and frontline personnel across the U.S. And, we accomplished this all while continuing to vet and validate new products for commercialization.

Having experienced exponential growth over the past six months, Alterra has emerged an even stronger, more efficient organization. As we continue to support the safe reopening of the country, we remain committed to executing on our founding vision. Incorporating lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe that, now more than ever, "Made in the USA" matters. We also believe that the ongoing pandemic-related supply chain challenges...