Building an Enterprise Under the Radar, with Mark Baum, Founder and CEO, Harrow

Click here to watch the video version of this podcast.

Harrow isn’t a household name (yet), but eye care professionals have trusted its products for over a decade.

The Nashville-based company produces Dexycu, an intraocular steroid; Iopidine for intraocular pressure control; and most recently, five Novartis products that Harrow acquired in December 2022.

Rob Rothman, MD, caught up with Harrow founder and CEO Mark Baum to find out how he grew the company from worse than nothing—he acquired, restructured, and reorganized a company in bankruptcy in 2011—to a publicly traded organization with an enterprise value of $750 million.

Baum describes Harrow as a “consortium of entrepreneurs.” That consortium includes:

• Eton Pharmaceuticals, developing products to treat rare disease
• Surface Ophthalmics, developing preservative-free products to treat dry eye disease and post-operative pain
• Melt Pharmaceuticals, which produces MKO Melt, an FDA-approved analgesic

Harrow built its business off compounded medications. By meeting needs of physicians in that way, it grew from zero to over 10,000 customers in a relatively short time.

Looking ahead, Baum wants to build Harrow’s portfolio and its brand recognition, all while abiding by the company’s mission: to give patients access to affordable ophthalmic medications.

Listen to the podcast today to discover:
• More about Baum’s career path, including his background as a lawyer and investor, his move into business, and the event that prompted him to reorganize and restructure what is now Harrow.
• Harrow’s corporate philosophy and why Baum considers the company a consortium of entrepreneurs.
• How Harrow grew from zero to over 10,000 customers in a few years.
• The secret to Harrow’s success, including how it profits from smaller, but no less important, assets.
• What’s next for Harrow, including the upcoming launch of Vevye, a dry eye drop based on Novaliq’s proprietary EyeSol water-free technology.
• How Harrow plans to grow within the next five years, and whether that includes developing its own products.

Resources
Harrow: harrow.com
Mark Baum: marklbaum.com and on LinkedIn
Rob Rothman, MD ois.net/robert-rothman-md