Vyaire Medical chief executive officer Gaurav Agarwal was recently interviewed by McKinsey about the Vyaire Medical team’s dedicated efforts to ramp up production and meet patient needs in response to COVID-19.

Within days of starting in his role at Vyaire, Agarwal was receiving calls from the international team regarding supply issues. COVID-19 cases were increasing in parts of China, and the teams were asking to place orders which were of a greater magnitude than what they would ever expect. Teams in Italy and Spain quickly followed with similar requests. It became clear that COVID-19 was escalating rapidly across the globe, and the company’s response would have to rise to meet the unprecedented demand.

“As a respiratory-focused company with one of the largest installed bases of critical-case ventilators in the world, we knew that we played a vital role in the response to COVID-19,” said Agarwal. “We could not afford to be limited in our thinking. This was a moral and ethical calling.”

Through a strategic partnership with Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, Vyaire was able to significantly expand production in order to meet the increased demand for ventilators. Vyaire also focused on how to best ensure ventilators were delivered as quickly as possible to the bedside, meeting customers where they were and prioritizing where the need was greatest.

“People react to crises differently. Some believe you have to hunker down because there’s enough going on. To me, crises are the perfect time to make a change, and even accelerate some of those changes,” said Agarwal. “I came in with a vision to innovate and expand access, and the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t changed that.”

To read Agarwal’s full interview about Vyaire’s response to COVID-19, click here. This article was originally published by McKinsey & Company, www.mckinsey.com. Copyright (c) 2020 All rights reserved.