Q&A with Dow Wilson, retired president and CEO of Varian Medical Systems
by Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief | October 05, 2022
Rad Oncology
From the October 2022 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
While I was CEO, we nearly doubled our investment in R&D, from 5-6% of sales to nearly 10% of sales. It wasn't innovation for innovation’s sake, but focused on improving clinical outcomes and making our products safer and easier to use. It was a dream to do it with 11,000 friends. And over 15 years, we grew the number of patients we were treating or helping in one way or another from hundreds of thousands to many millions. The chance to lead such a purpose-led organization was a dream.
HCB News: Proton therapy expanded rapidly during your time as CEO of Varian. Do you have an idea of what the next chapter holds for protons?
DW: That's a really good question. Proton therapy is amazing. I just had the chance to refer a friend's 27-year-old relative with a brain cancer to one of our proton centers. For protons to be successful, it has to make sense clinically, financially and socially. There's good data to show the benefits of proton therapy in pediatric cancers, recurrent cancers, and advanced cancers requiring chemo and radiation together. How much capacity do we need to deliver protons in those cases? That's the question. Proton therapy can't follow a model where it diffuses aggressively on economic terms, like has happened in other medical technologies. it's just too expensive for that.
I am very excited about the prospects of the FLASH (super-high, super-fast doses of radiation) technology. It has the prospect of both improving cancer outcomes and lowering cost. At the end of the day, it may just come down to economics. I don't think any manufacturers are making any money in proton therapy and very few customers have managed to have it make sense. The small market and low volumes make investment in R&D very difficult. Varian and others have been at this a very long time now and I'd be surprised if anyone is anywhere close to a cumulative cash flow positive scenario. It is the toughest market I think I've seen in my nearly 40 years of medical technology.
HCB News: What is one of the best pieces of advice you've ever received?
DW: Early in my career, Jeff Schaper — an SVP whom I worked for at GE Healthcare — told me, “Talk personally to 50 people a day." Early in my career that was really hard. Later in my career, it was much easier... but still difficult. The point is to have individual conversations with 50 people every day. Conversations where there is real dialogue — growth, understanding, empathy, equality. Talking at a crowd of 50 doesn't count. It's got to be personal and you have to have a listen-to-speak ratio greater than 1!
While I was CEO, we nearly doubled our investment in R&D, from 5-6% of sales to nearly 10% of sales. It wasn't innovation for innovation’s sake, but focused on improving clinical outcomes and making our products safer and easier to use. It was a dream to do it with 11,000 friends. And over 15 years, we grew the number of patients we were treating or helping in one way or another from hundreds of thousands to many millions. The chance to lead such a purpose-led organization was a dream.
HCB News: Proton therapy expanded rapidly during your time as CEO of Varian. Do you have an idea of what the next chapter holds for protons?
DW: That's a really good question. Proton therapy is amazing. I just had the chance to refer a friend's 27-year-old relative with a brain cancer to one of our proton centers. For protons to be successful, it has to make sense clinically, financially and socially. There's good data to show the benefits of proton therapy in pediatric cancers, recurrent cancers, and advanced cancers requiring chemo and radiation together. How much capacity do we need to deliver protons in those cases? That's the question. Proton therapy can't follow a model where it diffuses aggressively on economic terms, like has happened in other medical technologies. it's just too expensive for that.
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HCB News: What is one of the best pieces of advice you've ever received?
DW: Early in my career, Jeff Schaper — an SVP whom I worked for at GE Healthcare — told me, “Talk personally to 50 people a day." Early in my career that was really hard. Later in my career, it was much easier... but still difficult. The point is to have individual conversations with 50 people every day. Conversations where there is real dialogue — growth, understanding, empathy, equality. Talking at a crowd of 50 doesn't count. It's got to be personal and you have to have a listen-to-speak ratio greater than 1!
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David Hurlock
Great interview with a great leader
October 06, 2022 09:42
Congratulations on this interview with Dow Wilson. I had the pleasure of working in Varian during his tenure,
(several levels below Dow, of course). But he knew my name, and never hesitated to engage in conversation every time our paths crossed.
His success in nurturing innovation in cancer care, while growing Varian, is remarkable. I would wish him every success in his retirement, but I don't think anything would stand in his way to success, however he defines it.
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