Quest thinks globally

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Quest Health Solutions' new Tokyo-based investor provides a “substantial boost,” allowing the diabetes provider to scale its business and expand its market reach – possibly even into Asia, says CEO Adam Nadler. 

The company announced last week that it had received an investment from Sumitomo Corp. through its U.S. subsidiary Sumitomo Corporation of Americas based in New York. 

“This is laying the better financial groundwork for us as far as our objectives and bringing the resources (to) scale our business even further,” Nadler said. “They have experience doing that and it’s great that we can kind of plug into their network and take advantage of that.” 

Sumitomo has been active in health care globally for years, but the investment in Quest represents its first in the U.S. health care market. Overall, the company operates in 66 countries and regions in sectors ranging from energy to mineral resources to urban development. 

Nadler says there may be opportunities to add new product categories, but right now, Quest is focused on being an expert in continuous glucose monitoring – from the devices to patient management. In addition to its CGM business, the company has two sister companies, Quest Health Remote Care and Quest Health RPM Services. 

“It’s not just about wearing the device, it’s about educating the patient and making those behavioral changes,” he said. “What’s going to set us apart is the way we keep patients out of the hospital and prevent readmissions.” 

Longer term, Nadler also wants to enhance the Quest brand and bring it to Japan and Malaysia, where Sumitomo operates several managed care corporations. 

“The health care market over there is slightly behind the U.S. health care market,” he said. “Sumitomo (sees) what we can bring over to Asia and over to their businesses there. There’s a lot of opportunity in the future.” 

Here in the U.S., Quest operates in 48 states. Nadler founded the company in 2017, after exploring different diabetes supplies, including shoes, before turning to CGMs. 

“I realized there was an opportunity for us to get in on the ground floor of CGMs – it was so early we didn’t even know what the HCPCS codes or reimbursement were,” he said. “It’s been an exciting space that’s (now) appealing to people from outside the industry, as well.”