“ DRG International products can be found in 115 countries throughout the world—in major markets as well as more exotic locales such as Seychelles, Nepal, Maldives, Madagascar, and Kyrgyzstan. And we have been told that on the final Space Shuttle mission, DRG Hepcidin testing kits were used to conduct diagnostic tests on the astronauts! ”
Cyril E. Geacintov, PhD
CEO and President
DRG International
Springfield, NJ
Professional
Vice President, Octagon Industries
Manager of Corporate Planning, Celanese
Adjunct Professor, the Graduate School, Newark College of
Engineering
Director, Avon Products' Export Operations
Government Service: Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce;
Director of the Bureau of East/West Trade
Education
BS Paper Science and Engineering-
The State University of New York
PhD Physical Chemistry-Syracuse University and
The State University of New York
Personal
Skiing, tennis, swimming, languages, international politics,
charitable organizations, including overseas orphanages
Living up to a company mission statement. DRG International, a global innovator of high-quality medical diagnostics and equipment, provides the medical and research community with cutting edge, effective tools to build a healthier future.We carefully hire personnel with a dedication to our business, a strong work ethic, and interest in working in a global business. We use a “team approach” to projects to ensure that cross-company relationships are formed.
What's in a (company) name? When I was awarded a PhD in Physical Chemistry from SUNY and Syracuse University, people began to call me Dr. G, to avoid mispronouncing the name Geacintov. This family name is Russian and several hundred years old, and is very important to me. I decided to use it to define the company I was starting.
Changing demands, evolving company. Since I founded DRG International in 1970, both customer demand and methodology have changed; for example, clinical tests have moved from scintillation counter-based results; to radioactive Iodine 125 (I125) readers; to non-radioactive ELISAs; and, more recently, to luminescent assays, PCR, and various lateral flow methods. As another example, our current emphasis in developing a hybrid diagnostic automatic reader, with a small footprint and easy-use, is a response to the clinical diagnostic community's demand to provide automation in a small laboratory space at acceptable cost, high quality, and lower labor investment.
What's on the horizon? Healthcare professionals must be prepared to face the need to contain cost, while maintaining quality and ease-of-use. This means more automation and more economical products. The growing emphasis on safety leads to more and more regulations and the need to comply with regulatory demands. We in the field must be up-to-date with the newest technologies and procedures.
Going “above and beyond” to serve a customer. We recently had an interesting problem which developed in one of our customer's saliva laboratories. One of our normal cortisol tests suddenly appeared also to measure progesterone, a female hormone, in the saliva of some patients. Our retained samples, in the course of manufacturing the kit, worked perfectly and did not show a peak for progesterone. This posed quite a problem: Why, suddenly, did a particular test measure an additional analyte in the field with some patients and not others? Finally, our research and development team discovered that new wrinkle creams that women apply to their faces now include progesterone, which was picked up in the saliva, thereby giving us erroneous results. After much effort, we identified an antibody which did not react with progesterone and reconstituted the cortisol test to measure what it was supposed to measure. This is an example of how DRG International is constantly revaluating and redeveloping our formulas to ensure that the most consistent and accurate results are delivered to our clients and their patients.
How DRG works to attract young people to the medical laboratory industry. We understand the vital role we can play in the education of the next generation of medical and technology innovators. The hands-on experience they gain through our internships and experiential learning programs help them grow in a professional environment.
