Case Study — Diagnostics / Federal Commercialization
Accelerating diagnostic technologies from technical promise to national deployment
A national diagnostics emergency required commercialization, regulatory, manufacturing, and deployment work to run in parallel. The advisory role sat where technical promise had to become adopted capability.
- Client Type
- National Institutes of Health / RADx Tech
- Sector
- Diagnostics / Federal Commercialization
- Engagement
- Commercialization Infrastructure / Federal Capital Strategy & Program Positioning
- Horizon
- 2020–2023
1,042
Proposals evaluated (NIH-reported)
55
FDA EUA tests (NIH-reported)
7.8B+
Tests and test products produced (NIH-reported)
Problem
- Validation, regulatory clearance, manufacturing scale-up, and market adoption could not run sequentially.
- Diagnostic teams were technically strong but had no route to procurement, adoption, and federal buyers.
- A conventional grant program could not make milestone-driven acceleration decisions at the required tempo.
Intervention
- 01
Commercialization Read
Assessed venture commercialization posture, market strategy, and the gaps between technical milestones and adoption.
- 02
Adoption Pathways
Mapped procurement, government opportunity, strategic partners, and federal/defense-adjacent buyers against each technology.
- 03
Milestone Sprints
Supported milestone-driven commercialization sprints and vendor/partner assessment inside the program's operating cadence.
- 04
Program Decisions
Contributed expert input to program operating decisions on readiness, partners, and deployment routes.
Result
- 1,042 proposals evaluated across the initiative
- More than 250 organizations funded
- 55 FDA Emergency Use Authorization tests
- More than 7.8 billion tests and test products produced as of April 2023
Attribution & Disclosure
- National Institutes of Health
- NIBIB / RADx Tech
- VentureWell
Heath Naquin served as an NIH RADx Core Expert / commercialization advisor through VentureWell. Program-level outcomes are reported by NIH and are not solely attributable to any individual advisor or to Forged Catalyst.
Capabilities Applied
Sources
Public national-program case — Heath's role is described separately from NIH-reported program outcomes. Institutional references describe program context and do not imply endorsement.
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