This ALTIX Consulting series aims to shed light on lesser known, yet groundbreaking technological advancements in the industry sector. In each interview, we delve into a specific company’s contributions to reshaping the industrial landscape.
Interview with Matt Huddleston, CCO (Chief Commercial Officer) and Tim Flaherty, CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of Enable Injections.
Question: Matt, could you introduce yourself and tell us about your role at Enable Injections and how everything started?
Matt Huddleston: I’m Matt Huddleston, Chief Commercial Officer at Enable Injections. I joined the company back in 2012, as employee number 3, after Mike Hooven, the founder, and his wife, Sue. I’m an engineer by training and one of the original inventors of much of our technology. Initially, I focused on developing the technology, but I also had a knack for communicating, so they eventually put me on the front lines to help sell our products. It’s been an exciting journey from inventing and developing the technology to now promoting and selling it. I think that’s what drives my passion—working with people and getting them to trust in the potential of our solutions.
Question: It sounds like you’ve come a long way from engineering to sales. How did that transition feel?
Matt: It’s been a fascinating shift. A lot of business is built on relationships, and I’ve always been good at connecting with people. I think people find me authentic, and that helps when selling them something. It’s not just about pushing a product; it’s about getting people to believe in what we’re doing and in the company’s mission.
Question: Tim, could you share a bit about your background and how you got involved with Enable Injections?
Tim Flaherty: I joined Enable Injections as employee number 10. It’s been almost 10 years now. Before that, I worked with Mike Hooven at his first company, AtriCure, back in 2003. I later became the CFO of an Italian gearbox company, but I knew my true passion was to become a CFO in a high-growth life science company. When Mike called about joining Enable, the mission and technology excited me, so I made the leap to help build the business from the ground up.
Question: Let’s talk about how Enable Injections began. Matt, how did the idea start and what was driving you?
Matt: We have a close collaboration with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where some of the original inspirations for the technology came from. The initial idea was to create a small-volume, painless vaccine delivery system, but we quickly realized that “painless” is subjective, and vaccine delivery wasn’t where the innovation was. Around 2014, we pivoted to focus on biologic drugs. These types of drugs require much higher volumes of active drug for efficacy, well beyond what can be delivered in a typical autoinjector. In addition, most of these drugs start their lives as IV treatments. We saw a real opportunity to improve how those drugs are delivered, particularly for patients who need frequent treatments. That’s where Enable Injections began.
Question: It sounds like you had a major pivot. Can you walk us through that evolution and the key milestones?
Matt: We started out with small-volume delivery systems but quickly realized there wasn’t much demand for that. We were hitting dead ends with our original designs. But when we focused on biologics and large-volume delivery systems, we saw a huge opportunity. The breakthrough came in 2014 when we signed our first partner in the pharma industry. That’s when everything started to take off. From there, we ramped up quickly, raising funds to scale, invest in manufacturing, and implement systems like SAP, an ERP, to handle our growth. By 2016, we raised our Series A funding of $30 million, which really allowed us to push forward.
Question: When did you realize you had something that was truly innovative and scalable?
Tim: It was when we signed our first partner in 2014 and they said, “Yes, this is what we need.” Before that, we had a lot of positive feedback but no real validation. Once we got that first contract, we knew we were on the right track. It confirmed that we had something that could make a real impact in the industry.
Question: So, in hindsight, how important was the voice of the customer in shaping the product?
Matt: It was crucial. While our partners were the customers, the end consumers—the patients—were who we were really designing for. We had to educate our partners on what their consumers needed and how our technology could help. That’s been the journey: validating our technology with the market and learning what works for both our partners and the end-users.
Question: Let’s continue by talking about the company’s mission and vision. What is your core mission, and how does it drive your vision for the future?
Matt: Our mission is to redefine drug delivery for what I call the four Ps: patients, providers, payers, and ultimately our partners who are buying the technology. In terms of these four P’s, we focus on creating differentiated, value-driven technology that not only saves money in the healthcare system but also improves patient adherence and compliance. Too often, patients don’t follow through on their therapy, which can be detrimental. We aim to provide our partners with a technology that enhances the effectiveness of the life-changing drugs they’ve developed, which is where we focus—getting these drugs delivered more effectively. That’s the space we’re in.
As for the long-term vision, it’s really about reaching as many patients as we can. Our technology gives patients the freedom to infuse their medication anywhere, at any time, removing the need to go to infusion clinics. We get constant feedback from patients asking when the product will be available, and that urgency drives us. It’s incredibly motivating to push the product out as quickly as we can. We know it’s life-changing, and we wish we could get it out to everyone today, but the process is time-consuming. We’re dedicated to getting it out there as soon as possible.
Question: Building a company around such innovative technology is a challenge. How do you scale up from a small, close-knit team to a larger organization, and how do you make sure that everyone shares the same passion and vision?
Matt: Honestly, it’s hard. It’s difficult to teach others all of the experiences that have brought us to this point. What I do is lead by example. Customer satisfaction is always number one for me. Every user we get, every sale, every deal—it’s a gift. We don’t sell to the masses. Right now, we have seven partners, and each contract is a big deal. I try to instill that passion and commitment in the team by showing them how important every customer is and how every interaction is critical. It’s about delivering the best quality technology and the best service possible.
Tim: Building the right team is key, but it’s a challenge. Early on, we needed scientists and engineers who could roll up their sleeves and get things done. As we’ve grown, we’re becoming more of a commercial business, and now it’s about finding people who can help us scale and manage operations efficiently. We’ve had very little turnover as the company has transitioned, but some people who have operated better in a less structured small start-up environment have moved on. It’s tough to see good people go, but it’s also part of the growth process.
Question: It sounds like a major shift from startup to scaling. How do you balance maintaining the startup culture while putting in place the necessary processes and structure?
Matt: That’s one of the toughest things to manage. We still want to maintain some of the essential start-up qualities of including being close-knit, flexible, and nimble. We’ve always had that agility, and it’s one of the things that makes us unique. But as we scale, we also recognize the need for processes and procedures, and we’ve done a good job of implementing them at the right times. If we don’t put them in place, we won’t be successful, but we have to make sure they don’t stifle the creativity and flexibility that are key to our culture.
Tim: As we grow, the challenge is finding people who can thrive in both environments. They need to understand that, in the early days, you’re doing everything, but as the company matures, you need to delegate and manage processes. It’s a big change, and not everyone is comfortable with that transition. We have been lucky to have very little turnover. The key is finding the right people who can understand the company’s vision and grow with it.
Question: How big is the team right now, and how do you keep that sense of connection as the company grows?
Tim: We’re about 200 people now, which is still relatively small, but growing quickly. We want to keep that startup feel for as long as we can. It’s important to maintain that agility and flexibility, even as we put more structure in place. We want to be able to pivot quickly when we need to, and having that flexibility is a huge asset. However, as we continue to scale, I know we’ll have to bring in more structure. It’s just a matter of balancing that growth with the culture we’ve worked so hard to build. We’ve been lucky so far, but the challenge will always be managing that balance.
Question: Can you talk about the engineering process? How many iterations did you go through from the initial prototypes to the final product?
Matt: That process spanned years rather than just iterations. One key to our success has been agility and the ability to pivot. We made sure not to get emotionally attached to a particular design. If something didn’t work, we recognized it early and moved on. We kept testing with real consumers, those using the product—not just our customers, who are the pharmaceutical companies. Each feature, from the gauge design to the small details, has been iterated and refined many times to get it right.
Tim: In the early years, it was all about development, design, and human factors. It was trial and error. Now, the changes we make are smaller, more refined, but back then we were pivoting a lot—going from square to round shapes, for example. But once we settled on the right platform, it became more about scaling and improving the product with each iteration.
Question: Once the product was ready, how did you handle the scaling and industrialization phase, particularly with manufacturing?
Matt: Initially, we had a small manufacturing setup—just a few tables and prototype assembly fixtures. This was appropriate as we were still advancing the design and the manufacturing processes had to follow. As the design matured, so did the manufacturing processes with the introduction of limited semi-automation.. By the time we were ready to scale, we were clear on our manufacturing needs and invested in more and more semi-automated systems to meet partner demands. Our ERP system, SAP, was crucial here—it offered the scalability and built-in best practices we needed for life sciences. We knew the volumes would grow, so it was about investing in capacity, reducing costs, and meeting the demands of our pharmaceutical partners.
Question: How did the leadership team handle those challenges?
Tim: The leadership team knew that scaling had to be done smartly. We had to invest in the right technology at the right time, without overshooting. Our Series A funding helped us make critical manufacturing investments, and then Series B in 2018 gave us the resources to really scale. We still focus on squeezing costs out of the product and ensuring we have the capacity to meet future demands.
Question: It sounds like you’re well-positioned. But being based in Cincinnati—how has that impacted your journey, especially compared to being on the East or West Coast?
Tim: Cincinnati has been a huge asset. The life sciences ecosystem here is robust, with partners like CincyTech, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and local companies like Johnson & Johnson. Talent is abundant, and though recruiting from outside the region is challenging, we’ve had great success locally. We’ve also received support from organizations like Cleveland Clinic and JobsOhio. The local ecosystem and cost of living make Cincinnati a fantastic place for scaling this type of business.
Question: Looking ahead, what challenges do you foresee in the next few years?
Matt: From a market perspective, educating people about the value of subcutaneous delivery with on-body technology is a big challenge. It’s not something everyone understands right away, and changing perceptions takes time. For technology, we’re focusing on making smart investments without overextending. We’re commercial now, but we’re still in the low-volume phase. The next few years are crucial for validating the technology with larger volumes and expanding our customer base.
Question: How do you market your technology and reach new partners?
Matt: We take a multifaceted approach. We go to the right trade shows for visibility, but we also focus heavily on direct outreach—partner to partner, person to person. Marketing helps get the word out, but business development is where we put in the real work, with targeted, direct conversations. It’s a challenge, but it’s been working for us so far.
Question: With such a logical product and a clear market need, why do you think some pharma companies are hesitant to jump on board?
Matt: It all comes down to whether it’s right for their asset and patient population. For some, it’s about ensuring the technology fits their needs and their patients’ needs. It’s a matter of trust and education, but once the value is understood, the adoption follows.
Question: Will you continue to innovate by addressing other drugs and applications? How do you envision continuous innovation for the future?
Matt: Everything you mentioned centers around this. We’re focused on providing additional value around large volume products. Drugs often start their lives in vials, and these drugs are initially lyophilized, in powder form. This is because drugs are inherently unstable, and it takes a lot of development work to get them into a stable liquid form. The challenge is how to reduce that development process, so instead of spending years converting a powder drug into a liquid, we can ideally mix or reconstitute it at the point of use and get their product to market years earlier. A dual vial mixing technology is one of the innovations we’re currently working on.
Question: You also mentioned connected healthcare. Can you expand on that?
Matt: Yes, connected healthcare is another key focus for us. If I’m a healthcare provider in a clinic and I’m administering the drug to my patient, I know they got the drug and that it’s working with no issues. But if I let the patient self-administer the drug at home without direct supervision or any further monitoring, I have no idea if it’s being administered correctly or if it’s effective. That’s why we’re working on connected healthcare systems to ensure patient compliance, verify that everything is working, and track whether patients are properly taking their medication.
Question: Do you view innovation as a push or pull process? Is it about recognizing market needs and pushing out solutions, or do your partners and pharma companies tell you what they need, and you develop it?
Matt: It’s a combination of both. We listen to both our customers (partners)- and their consumers (patients), hearing the challenges they face. We then innovate based on what we learn from both of them. Sometimes, our customers have difficulties articulating their problems or visualizing solutions until they see a prototype. That’s why we always present new concepts and prototypes to our pharma partners, oftentimes based on their consumers’ feedback.. So, it’s a collaborative process, and it works well for us.
Question: Let’s talk about market complexity. With the healthcare system varying greatly between countries like France, the US, and Italy, or others how do you strategically approach different markets, especially considering regulatory complexities?
Matt: You’re right, there’s a lot of complexity when it comes to global markets. The benefit of working business-to-business is that we don’t have to handle all the sales and marketing. Our partners are responsible for that, and they have a baseline understanding of the regulatory landscapes in each market. But from our perspective, device regulatory compliance is a major part of our business and it’s quite complex. For example, the existence of infusion clinics in the US doesn’t exist in the same way in Europe. Our partners lead the way in terms of understanding local markets and regulations, but we support them, especially with device-specific regulations, as that’s where we have the expertise.
Question: You mentioned supply chains earlier. How do you approach sourcing components? Is it local or global?
Matt: We try to source from the best vendors available, some of which are based in the US and others globally. COVID really taught us the importance of a reliable supply chain. Our partners demand not just quality, but also supply chain reliability. While some of our components are sourced globally, we’re also focusing on sourcing more locally to ensure continuity and reduced risk. We’re not vertically integrated, so we rely on our suppliers to provide critical components. We’ve had some challenges with suppliers reluctant to deal with us due to our smaller volumes. That’s why we’ve been focusing on dual sourcing, volume discounts, and cost reductions. It’s an ongoing challenge but one we’re managing.
Question: Lastly, I want to touch on work-life balance. Given the demanding nature of the startup environment, how do you maintain balance and manage the stress?
Matt: Honestly, it’s tough. I live and breathe this business—I think about it constantly. But I’ve started to take up less stressful activities, like flying. I’m training to get my private pilot license for small planes, and it’s actually been therapeutic. When I’m in the air, I can’t think about anything else, which gives me a break from the constant demands of the business. That said, there’s really no such thing as a true work-life balance for me.
Tim: For me, the hybrid model that came out of COVID has helped a lot. I can work from home, which has allowed me more flexibility and a bit of time for myself and my family. It’s not perfect, but it makes things a lot easier.
Closing: That flexibility sounds like a great advantage. Thanks again for sharing your insights with us today. It’s exciting to hear about the innovations you’re driving, and we wish you continued success.
Matt and Tim: Thank you. It’s been a pleasure!
About Enable Injections:
Enable Injections is a healthcare innovation company committed to improving the patient treatment experience through the development and manufacturing of enFuse.
enFuse is a wearable drug delivery solution featuring the first-ever purely mechanical hands-free wearable technology designed to deliver large volumes of pharmaceutical and biologic therapeutics subcutaneously, in which patients receive their needed treatment through a simple injection under the skin, instead of intravenously.
Driven by patient insights, Enable Injections is continuously exploring ways to improve the patient experience, increase patient and provider safety, and reduce the time, treatment, and cost burden of treating chronic diseases.
Headquartered with design, development, and manufacturing in Cincinnati, Ohio, Enable Injections has received more than $300 million in capital funding.
