Qualgen Pivots to Produce Sanitizer
An international pharmaceutical company is quietly tucked away in Edmond, complete with high-tech sterile rooms and state-of-the-art laboratory. The company has produced scientifically-advanced compounds for medical facilities around the world since 2012. Last month, the company shifted gears and is now producing over 1,000 gallons of hand sanitizer a day!
“As you know, it was impossible to get hand sanitizer just a few weeks ago,” said Shaun Riney, CEO of Qualgen. “Since we are a licensed, bulk manufacturer of drug products, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is allowing us to temporarily compound alcohol-based hand sanitizer during the shortage.”
According to Riney, who was eager to help during the Coronavirus pandemic, it took about two weeks to switch gears. Fortunately, he had some extra warehouse space and was even able to hire eight additional employees for the project, including some local Goodwill employees who were laid off.
“We’re a small company, but we’re working around the clock now,” Riney said. “Our first batch of hand sanitizer alone was 22,000 gallons—so this is a massive undertaking. We are servicing our regular customers, mostly hospitals and first responders, but we are also trying to help the community.”
“We just sent a large order to the Federal Aviation Administration and to the Tribes,” said Nikki Good, director of sales. “But half of our sales are going to private individuals who are living in fear that they can’t get hand sanitizer.”
Riney admits that few people have heard of Qualgen, nor would need to, since they normally do not sell to the public. The company specializes in hormone therapy pellets that are natural and biologically-identical to what is produced by the body.
“Initially, most of our clients were gynecologists, but that has slowly changed with a better understanding of how hormone deficiency affects whole-body health, mood and even sleep. Now, our hormone pellets are being used by general practitioners, urologists, men’s clinics and med spas,” Riney said.
Riney, whose background is in finance, has an entrepreneurial spirit. He was introduced to the pharmaceutical world by a doctor who was gathering global data to develop a precise hormone compound. Qualgen is now the producer of that product, and because of its success, Riney has since opened a lab in Brazil and is developing another one in Holland.
“Not only do we have the purest pellet in the world, no other custom compounder in the United States has such a broad international reach for a small company.”
In addition to Qualgen’s temporary foray into hand sanitizer
production, the company is producing other emergency drugs related to COVID-19 recovery, such as a throat relaxer needed to help patients on ventilators.
“It’s a blessing for Qualgen to fill this void,” said Good. “We can not only give back, but it sustains us financially while many of our usual customer clinics are closed.”
To learn more or place an order, visit qualgen.us/hand-sanitizer
