Outstanding innovations in biomedical engin­eer­ing derive from the collective efforts of all scientists. Allen Y. Wang, the inventor and technical lead for SURGICEL® Powder Absorbable Hemostat at Johnson & Johnson MedTech, comes from Taiwan. This product that is able to rapidly stop bleeding is today on the market in over 40 countries worldwide and has benefited millions of patients.

Explaining the background to his patented invention, Wang says: “There had long been hemostatic powders on the market.” But these were unable to penetrate quickly through blood to get to the source of the bleeding, and were ineffective at controlling continuous oozing of blood from broad tissue surfaces. Such powders had failed to gain widespread acceptance in the medical community—until Wang came up with his idea for SURGICEL Powder.

“In fact, initially J&J didn’t see this as a priority area of R&D.” Wang could only start from scratch with very limited resources. “But the situation dramatically changed in June of 2013, at the concept presentation.” Wang invited J&J’s worldwide chairman for medical devices to personally try out the product. After a traditional hemostatic powder was added to blood in a test tube, when the test tube was inverted the blood flowed out again, but blood in a test tube to which SURGICEL Powder was added quickly clotted and remained in the test tube. This ­striking contrast caused the audience at the presentation to burst into applause, and the chairman immediately declared SURGICEL Powder to be a “star” product for R&D.

Meeting unmet needs

“To avoid blindly developing products that don’t meet market demands, J&J spends a lot of money doing global surveys before we invest in product R&D.” Their goal is to accurately identify unmet needs of doctors and patients.

What attracted Wang to choose J&J over many other possible employers was that “here there are different business divisions to choose from and there is mutual support, so I would be able to put my talents to good use.” J&J operates in three major business fields: consumer health, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. It has abundant and diverse resources and is very rigorous in recruitment, hiring only elite candidates. Wang was able to plunge directly into his favorite field: biomedicine.

Wang was prompted to develop SURGICEL Powder because of the inadequacy of existing products, and safety concerns among doctors and patients. He explains: “Being unable to pinpoint a bleed site is a major headache during surgery.” Some patients even continue to bleed after surgery, leading to adhesions that require additional surgery. This represents a waste of medical resources and there is also an increased risk of death. Understanding these problems, Wang says, “I felt I had to find a way to overcome them.” It was the existence of a global medical need that motivated him.

A flash of genius

Wang’s unrelenting focus on this issue finally paid off when in 2012 he had a eur­eka moment while looking at a sizzling-hot serving of hash browns. As he looked at the steaming food, the long-sought answer popped into his mind: a three-dimensional structure of aggregated fiber fragments. From there he went on to develop and patent the legendary SURGICEL Powder.

“Because this hemostatic material must ultimately be absorbed, broken down, and metabolized by the body, it requires production and testing processes as rigorous as those for pharmaceuticals. During the complex production process, all parameters must be very precisely controlled.” The char­acter of the product meant there was a high failure rate in quality inspections, and stabilizing the production process was a major challenge.

The SURGICEL hemostatic powder has three special features: It is bactericidal, absorbable, and biodegradable. The powder’s unique structure of “aggregates” (loose clumps) of oxidized regenerated cellulose (ORC) fiber fragments not only facil­it­ates covering large irregular areas of tissue, but can quickly penetrate through blood to get to the source of the bleeding, where the clumps of ORC fibers break apart and the fibers provide surfaces for platelet adhesion and ­aggregation. Because it penetrates, breaks up, and disperses rapidly, when interacting with large amounts of blood it forms clots more quickly and can achieve per­man­ent hemo­stasis. “Our goal was for the hemostatic effect to remain undiminished even after normal surgical irrigation.”

SURGI­CEL Powder, in combination with a patented applicator, was approved as a Class III medical device by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2017 and by the European Union in 2018. The applicator is easy to use and offers precise control over the amount of powder used to target the bleed site. “This product can be used not only in traditional surgeries but also in minimally invasive and robotic surgeries.”

Wang says with a laugh that he was only able to complete his master’s thesis successfully because his professors held him to the highest standards in all his experiments.

Unbridled curiosity

Wang’s mother worked in a hospital and his father was a high-school chemistry teacher, so he has always had an unbreakable bond with chemistry.

Wang graduated from the Department of Chemistry at Tunghai University and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at National Yang-Ming University, and received his PhD in Biomaterials Science and Engineering from Johns Hopkins University (JHU). He is currently global technical lead and principal scientist for new product development in Biosurgery R&D at J&J MedTech. Jokingly known by friends and family as a “late bloomer,” Wang says: “I’m grateful to my parents because they weren’t strict with me and didn’t kill my curiosity.”

SURGICEL Powder has greatly benefited many patients, and Wang has won several of J&J’s top awards, as well as numer­ous global patents and design awards. The accolade that delights him most is being named a distinguished alumnus of JHU in early 2022. The Johns Hopkins Alumni Association recognized him as being “truly a leader in the medical device field” and displaying “an unyielding ded­ica­tion to the transformation of patient care.”

A miracle

Wang got a full scholarship for his PhD studies at JHU, and to date he has been granted more than 70 patents. He is a leader in the field of medical devices who has developed numerous lifesaving innovative surgical products. Yet when he first arrived in the US he never dreamed he would be accepted at JHU.

But he decided to “give it a shot” and applied anyway. When he was notified that he would get a preliminary telephone interview, he was amazed and delighted. Because his English was not good enough, “I wrote down all the questions I could think of on sticky notes and put them up all over the little room I was renting.”

Having passed the first hurdle, he next went to JHU—at the school’s expense—for face-to-face interviews. He spent three days there, during which, as well as giving a prepared presentation, he was faced with questions from professors in various fields to test his ability to think on his feet and evalu­ate the breadth and depth of his scholar­ship.

Wang was overjoyed when word came that he had been accepted with a full scholarship, but the real challenge began after he started at JHU. “When the doctoral candidates reported, the secretary told me I had the lowest grades of any student they had ever admitted, but they had made an exception and accepted me because of my potential, and I should not let them down.” Moreover, the school did not allow him to transfer or waive credits for any graduate classes, but rather made him start the whole curriculum from scratch. Wang virtually gave up sleeping and eating as he buckled down to his studies, and his hair turned white.

“Math and physics were my weak points. In the class on physical properties of materials, I only earned a C+.” Because this did not meet the minimum grade of B required for PhD candidates, he was almost unable to continue his studies. “I am really grateful to my advisor, Dr. Michael S. Yu, who put complete faith in me and went to bat for me, so that I was allowed to retake the exam.” Wang applied himself even more assiduously so as not to disappoint the many benefactors who had helped him in his life. He hopes to pass along to all students who are facing difficulties the idea that “past pain makes possible today’s dreams,” which he took from his experience of studying at JHU.

Attitude is key to success

On the day of our interview Wang took us on a visit to his alma mater National Yang-Ming University (NYMU), a place that calls up countless warm memories for him. “In fact I continually faced frustration in school when I was young.” Wang, who was recently named a distinguished alumnus of Taipei’s Yanping High School, admits he was stymied in Taiwan’s aca­demic system. He was always bottom of his class in middle school and it was only with difficulty that he got into Yanping High. Despite having a father who taught chemistry, Wang scored only nine out of 100 on the chemistry section of his joint university entrance exam. “All parents want their children to succeed, but mine said nothing and chose to give me my freedom.”

Freedom, however, also implied taking responsibility for choices and their consequences. After a year off, Wang tested into Tunghai University. “I almost failed out in my sophomore year and realized I couldn’t carry on just muddling through.” Professor Lin Chen-tung, chairman of Tunghai’s Department of Chemistry, was the mentor who inspired Wang to rethink his life. Hearing that chemistry could help fight cancer, Wang, always ­eager to help others, found his direction: biomedicine with chem­istry as the foundation.

“I think the most important thing is attitude.” Wang straightened himself out and got an outstanding score on his graduate school entrance exam, after which he chose to attend the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at NYMU. “Professors Wang Yng-jiin and Lynn Ling-huei Huang had a huge influence on me.” They required him to perform his master’s project experiments so rigorously that they met the standards for PhD work. “The training I received in the laboratories at Tunghai and NYMU has stood me in good stead all my life.”

After entering the doctoral program at JHU, Wang encountered an emphasis on independent thinking and self-­designed research. To meet his goal of becoming an outstanding researcher, he opened his mind to new know­ledge from around the world. He discovered novel bio-­inspired materials that could be used in tissue engin­eer­ing and regenerative medi­cine and had broad applications in biomedicine, such as in diagnostic imaging and in targeted and controlled drug delivery systems. His excellent training established a firm foundation for his future career in biomedical ­engineering.

A vision for biomedical development

Wang is happy to train younger scientists and is very cordial to Taiwanese students who do internships at J&J. He encourages them to adopt a “responsible attitude” and keep their promises while taking responsibility for all consequences. He teaches them that only with tireless self-­improvement can one stand out in the harshly competitive professional world.

Having grown up in Taiwan, Wang also wants to help his homeland. “There is great potential for development and cross-industry cooperation in biomedicine.” But it is only by having a firm grasp of as yet unmet medical needs that the biomedical industry can become more competitive. “I really hope to see Taiwan’s biomedical sector become internationally competitive.” It takes a lot of money, manpower, and time to develop a new product and get it approved for international sale, so there has to be strong support from government and big enterprises to get global attention.

“Although it is an honor to receive awards, my greatest joy lies in helping patients and doctors around the world.” As a devout Christian, Wang thinks only about putting in the work, and leaves the rewards up to God. He does not seek a perfect or wealthy life, but simply peace of mind.

For more pictures, please click 《Life-Saving Innovation—Award-Winning Medtech Researcher Allen Y. Wang》

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