Welcome to “Innovators & Insights,” an interview series hosted by Chris Strohsahl, President & CEO of Drummond Scientific, where leading minds in the life sciences industry share the latest industry trends, groundbreaking innovations, and pivotal stories from their professional journeys. In this edition, Chris spoke with Joe Walish, Chief Product Officer of Hyperion Biosystems (formerly C2Sense, Inc.), a company using computer vision and physics-based algorithms to transform diagnostic development. Highlighting the importance of high-performance, low-cost diagnostics, Joe explores the latest and greatest ideas driving the future of healthcare–from molecular platforms and cloud-connected readers to the power of questioning assumptions.
Chris Strohsahl: Joe, you’re the Chief Product Officer at Hyperion Biosystems. Can you give us some background about yourself, your professional journey, and how you became involved in diagnostics?
Joe Walish: At my core, I’ve always loved building things and figuring out how they work. I began my career in materials engineering and later attended graduate school at MIT, where I developed a passion for polymers and bio-inspired optics. As I was finishing up, I told my advisor that I was thinking about joining a large materials firm, but I was also interested in building a company. He then connected me with a colleague in the Chemistry Department (Professor Tim Swager) who was looking for an “entrepreneurial” postdoctoral researcher. I joined his lab, and after a couple years we launched a startup selling contrast agents for solid-state NMR and MRI. That’s how I met the founders of C2Sense—and about six years ago, I joined what would later become Hyperion Biosystems.
CS: Can you tell us the story behind C2Sense and how it spun off into Hyperion Biosystems?
JW: The “C2” in our name comes from ethylene, an important molecule in fruit ripening and spoilage, which has two carbon atoms. So, “C2Sense” originally referred to sensing ethylene. The company was spun out of MIT with a focus on using carbon nanotubes for that purpose. Over time, we expanded into ammonia sensing and began developing technology for storing and preserving fresh produce in warehouses. Then, thanks to our current CEO, Jason Cox, we uncovered a new technology platform, with applications in authentication, optical sensing, and diagnostics.
Diagnostics wasn’t part of our original roadmap, but during the pandemic, lateral flow assays (LFA) became a major focus country-wide. That’s when diagnostics became a top priority. We went all in, eventually rebranding the company as Hyperion Biosystems, and dove headfirst into the diagnostics market.
CS: Was LFA part of your original plan for C2Sense, or did that evolve out of the core optical technology in your Halo System?
JW: We recognized early on that our optical technology could be applied to LFA and diagnostics more broadly, but that wasn’t our initial focus. One thing we do well at Hyperion is evaluating the landscape and committing to where we can make the biggest impact.
During the pandemic, with testing suddenly in the spotlight, we saw an opportunity to do some wonderful things with LFA, and that shift is what ultimately led us to Drummond.
CS: How would you describe Hyperion’s core mission today?
JW: Hyperion’s core mission is to make high-performance diagnostics broadly accessible. In a landscape full of expensive solutions and rising healthcare costs, we’re focused on delivering diagnostics that combine exceptional accuracy and value—at a price point that expands access rather than limits it.
CS: How does a collaboration with Hyperion work? Are you developing the tests yourselves or working with partners?
JW: We do a bit of both—and I think that flexibility is one of our strengths. If a partner already has an assay and just needs a reader, great—we can support that. If they have an idea for a new test, we can build the entire system from the ground up. A good example is our recent collaboration with Drummond on our microcystin assay, where we developed a custom test and paired it with our reader, which uploads data to the cloud and delivers accurate, repeatable results.
Our collaborations aren’t one-size-fits-all. It’s a big advantage that we can offer components and services à la carte, because not everyone needs a full end-to-end solution. Sometimes a partner brings us a fantastic assay, and we can integrate it directly—or even help improve it. That variety is part of what makes our work so rewarding.
CS: If a partner comes to Hyperion with an existing assay, are you generally agnostic to the type of recognition elements they’re using? Or do you typically work with them to adapt it for optimal compatibility with the Halo system?
JW: We can do both. If a partner is satisfied with the assay’s performance—its specificity and sensitivity—we’re happy to accept it as-is and quickly develop a reader around it. In some cases, we’ve delivered custom readers in as little as two weeks. And if they’re looking for added features, we can connect it to our HIPAA-compliant backend for data handling and cloud integration.
On the other hand, if the assay needs improvement in sensitivity or specificity, we can absolutely help optimize it.
CS: How does your technology increase sensitivity, and why is that so important in the markets we’re looking at?
JW: Sensitivity is critical because false negatives undermine your ability to detect low-level targets. When you’re testing, you need to know whether something is truly present. While there are detection limits, pushing those boundaries allows you to identify issues earlier and address them more effectively.
Achieving this requires deep, sustained observation and understanding of how the assay works to extract the maximum information from it. This is where some of the technology we developed at C2Sense truly makes a difference. Typically, there’s a trade-off between sensitivity and specificity, but our approach and orthogonal techniques enable us to improve both simultaneously, lowering the detection limit without increasing false positives.
CS: Cost is a huge focus of yours and a key consideration when it comes to democratizing access to diagnostics. Is there anything specific you’re doing to drive those costs down?
JW: I abhor waste, and that philosophy carries over into our product design. While extra components can sometimes be helpful, combining systems and leveraging software to replace mechanical parts streamlines the manufacturing process, cutting both time and costs. A key part of our approach is reducing part count by constantly asking, “Does this component need to be here, or can we achieve the same function with fewer parts?”
Another major focus is challenging assumptions and gaining a deep understanding of the system at a fundamental level. At Hyperion, we’re fortunate to have exceptionally sharp minds across machine vision, chemistry, and systems engineering. Through the development process, we’ve gained a core understanding of LFA, and our interdisciplinary expertise enables us to question traditional approaches and build more cost-effective, high-performance devices.
CS: Does the Halo system make it easier to develop assays because you have that high-end power at the back end?
JW: That’s a key advantage we’re actively promoting. Assay development involves a lot of work to understand and minimize false positives, which can arise from countless substances, chemical or biological interference alike. Currently, we’re conducting experiments that help us distinguish true positives from these types of interference. Although this technology is still new, we’re confident it demonstrates a powerful capability.
CS: How do you see diagnostic tools evolving over the next several years?
JW: The molecular diagnostics space is especially exciting for us. In fact, just a few months ago, we launched a molecular platform.
The trend is clear: better, faster, smaller, and more affordable. Much of the innovation we’re seeing stems from advances in microelectronic processing and related technologies. The scale and precision at which electronic components are manufactured today is truly remarkable—and it’s driving a new wave of possibilities in diagnostic tools.
CS: In today’s world, it feels like all the computing and image processing power is coming together at the perfect moment–and it’s driving an explosion of diagnostic technologies with the potential to revolutionize healthcare. To that end, is Hyperion looking at artificial intelligence (AI)?
JW: We’re certainly investigating it, but none of our algorithms are based on AI. Rather, they’re based on deterministic algorithms on which we’ve built a very solid foundation. It requires high-quality input data to train an AI model and ensure everything is functioning properly. As a smaller and relatively younger company, we don’t want to introduce unnecessary risk. At this point, the algorithms we have are fantastic, and AI is just going to be the cherry on top.
CS: What are you most excited about in the coming year?
JW: We’re eager to build on the momentum with Halo while advancing some exciting projects on the molecular front, especially with our upcoming Helios system. We look forward to introducing Helios and bridging the gap between lateral flow and molecular diagnostics.
Molecular technologies represent the future of diagnostics, and that’s exactly where we’re headed.
CS: What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever gotten?
JW: This may sound basic, but it’s “Have a goal, and inspect and adapt.” Having the ability to inspect the progress toward your goal, understand if it’s the right one, and make sure you’re working towards it is important. And if it’s not the right goal, introspect–find your North Star, then go after it.
CS: Finally, what’s a book you’ve read that shaped your worldview or helped along your professional journey?
JW: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. It has a lot of great takeaways that reinforced the inspect and adapt mindset and how it applies to building a product or company.
