Latest news with #JustinGill
CBC
12-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
Drug analyzer goes mobile in Thunder Bay, Ont., in wake of consumption site's closure
Social Sharing Before Justin Gill began working at NorWest Community Health Centres (NWCHC), he thought fentanyl was the most toxic substance impacting drug users in Thunder Bay, Ont. But he was wrong. Using the organization's drug analyzer machine, he found traces of carfentanil — which is 100 times stronger than fentanyl — and nitazenes in the substances people brought in. "That was very alarming," he said. "People think they're getting one thing but there's multiple things in their substance that can kill them in very small amounts." The Thunder Bay district continues to have the highest opioid-related death rate in Ontario, at nearly five times the provincial average. Meanwhile, the region's only supervised consumption site — Path 525 — closed at the end of March due to new provincial rules about how close sites can be to schools and childcare settings. NWCHC, which operated Path 525, is now the lead partner for a new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub in town. However, unlike supervised consumption sites, these hubs do not allow drug consumption, safer supply or needle exchange programs. In order to continue operating its drug analyzer machine, NWCHC sought a federal exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The organization received support from the City of Thunder Bay to get the program up and running through the Emergency Treatment Fund. This week, the organization launched a new mobile outreach van, which has been retrofitted to allow the machine to be used on board. People think they're getting one thing but there's multiple things in their substance that can kill them in very small amounts. - Justin Gill, harm reduction support worker "It tells you exactly every single thing that's in there," said Gill, who formerly worked at Path 525 and is now a harm reduction support worker for the mobile outreach van. "When people come to test their substances, I don't know whose it is or why they're testing it, right? But for whatever reason it is, everybody deserves to know." Increasingly toxic drug supply Juanita Lawson, executive director of NWCHC, said the organization was already looking into offering mobile drug checking services before Path 525's closure. "One of the exciting things we'll be able to do is to go to locations in the city, make it — we're hoping — more accessible for individuals who might not have come into our program," Lawson said. "Then also going to events such as music festivals or going to locations in the city where we know people might be using substances, and making sure they have access." The drug checking machine uses Raman laser technology to scan substances, conducting either trace scans of small samples or bulk scanning through a clear bag. "It only needs a tiny amount, so I'm not going to be taking a big chunk of the supply from the client," Gill said. NWCHC posts summaries of its drug tests online to let the community know what's in the street supply. In January, about 63 per cent of the substances tested were not what clients expected. The more toxic a substance is, the more difficult it is to reverse the effects of an overdose caused by its consumption, Lawson said. By educating people about what's in the substances they have, this allows them to make an informed choice about whether they want to consume them, she said, which in turn can reduce overdose rates and ease the strain on the community's emergency medical services. "Our workers who are on the bus will be able to do some health teaching about how to maybe use smaller doses or potentially not use that substance at all," Lawson said. Building trust with clients A key part of the program's success is the outreach workers on board, who are able to build a rapport with people who use drugs in the community. "We know our outreach workers … can develop safe, trusting relationships with individuals that come in, no questions asked," Lawson said. "We just want people to be safe and we want to also provide them some resources that they might need to navigate to other services." Long-time advocate Kyle Arnold is more than six years into recovery from addiction and a well-known figure in Thunder Bay's recovery community. He is now a community support worker specializing in addiction for Long Lake #58 First Nation. "I think that it's so vital to have outreach and outreach [from] people with lived experience, because at the end of the day, we are very aware of how to deal with those sort of situations," Arnold said. His hope is that the mobile outreach van helps bridge the gap in services resulting from Path 525's closure, he said. "It adds a lot of safety to the community of drug users," said Arnold. NWCHC is continuing to use the free LifeguardConnect app to issue alerts about toxic substances in the community. The app includes information about opioids and addiction services. For those consuming substances alone, they can use the app to set a timer, which will alert emergency medical services of their location if it's not turned off — signalling a potential overdose. The mobile outreach van is operating Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., though NWCHC is seeking feedback on how it can be expanded going forward. A map will be posted to its site soon of the route the van will take and where people can find it.
Business Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Millions of Americans are obsessed with this Japanese barbecue sauce
[NEW YORK] Justin Gill was getting desperate. In his yearslong quest to mass-produce and distribute his grandmother's home-brewed Japanese barbecue sauce without pumping it full of preservatives, he'd borrowed US$250,000 from relatives and friends, maxed out his credit cards and turned his Northern California home into a fulfilment centre. But he needed more capital in the months following the brand's 2019 release. So the landscaper and father of three resorted to short-term, high-interest loans, where borrowing rates compounded daily. 'Every US dollar I could find or borrow, I put into Facebook ads,' said Gill, who prayed that the traffic would translate into sales of the almost US$10-a-bottle speciality sauce-which he called Bachan's, after the Japanese word for 'granny'-before one of his creditors seized his house. His desperation turned out to be short-lived. Sales of the umami-forward, savoury-sweet condiment exploded, from US$35,000 in its first year to US$1.5 million in 2020, thanks to Gill's hustling, the brand's healthful sheen and, in no small part, the onset of the pandemic, which dramatically reshaped the way US households shop and cook. Now revenue is on track to exceed US$100 million in 2025, said a source familiar with the company who was not authorised to speak publicly. (A spokesperson for Bachan's declined to provide specifics on profitability, revenue and other financials.) Bachan's ships tens of millions of bottles per year to more than 25,000 retail locations nationwide, including Costco, Walmart and Whole Foods. The company said that its products are stocked in around 5 per cent of US household pantries, alongside ketchup, mustard and other long-time American staples. 'We are everywhere we want to be right now,' said Gill, 43. Still, 'we would love to be at 80 per cent'. The red-topped squeeze bottle has certainly broken into some big-name fridges. In a TikTok video, TV personality Bethenny Frankel tells her 2.8 million followers it's 'probably the best Asian sauce I have ever had' as she dips her sushi rolls into a reservoir of hot and spicy Bachan's. Model-turned-businesswoman Hailey Bieber, who has 2.5 million YouTube subscribers, coats her 'signature' air-fried wings in the original variety in a cooking clip. 'I put it on salmon, chicken, anything you can think of,' she said as she mixes her sauce, which is pretty much just Bachan's with cayenne, honey and a squirt of Sriracha. 'I love this sauce.' A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up Gill grew up eating his grandmother's barbecue sauce slathered on fried rice, beef sukiyaki and crispy chicken drumettes. Its business potential became clear to him at a young age, when customers of his father's landscaping business who were gifted bottles of the secret family recipe came back asking for refills. By the time he decided to turn that seed of an idea into a real product, Gill knew he needed to be able to make it at scale without compromising quality. He stuck with his grandmother's list of 10 pronounceable ingredients including a mirin that the same family in Japan has been making for seven generations and developed a cold-fill process that gives the product a longer shelf life without pasteurisation. Unlike more traditional barbecue sauces, which often get their sweet, peppery or smoky taste using some combination of brown sugar or corn syrup, vinegar and tomato paste, Bachan's flavour profile is closer to America's take on teriyaki, brimming with soy, ginger, garlic and green onion. 'People are sick of the same old brands,' said Alex Hayes, co-founder of Harris & Hayes, a food consulting company, of the booming popularity of condiments such as Bachan's. 'They are looking for excitement and newness.' The chief catalyst for the brand's almost overnight success was arguably the pandemic. As consumers forced indoors got bored with cooking at home, they began scouring their social media feeds for fresh ideas; the brand's bright cap and signature octopus-stamped bottle were hard to miss. 'It was coming fast and furious,' said Mike Keefer, vice-president of sales, who in those early days schlepped sauce in the back of his pickup from the manufacturer's warehouse to Gill's home to ship to customers. By the end of 2020, Bachan's was the top-selling barbecue sauce at Keefer estimates the company landed more retail accounts in one-year than a normal food startup would be able to secure in five. The sauce also caught fire because Japanese condiments and flavours have been gaining in popularity think miso, yuzu or matcha, which are seemingly everywhere on modern US menus. Health-conscious consumers looking for alternatives to ultra-processed foods have also helped sales. Another tailwind: The brand pushed retailers to stock Bachan's in the barbecue aisle, rather than the international section, helping to position it as a mainstream brand in the fairly staid barbecue sauce category. The firecracker growth got the attention of investors. In 2021, after a partner discovered the condiment on Amazon, Prelude Growth Partners offered to invest US$10 million in Bachan's. Gill turned them down. 'I didn't want to give away too much of the company,' he said. Prelude called back and proposed US$4 million; this time, he accepted. 'I will never forget seeing a wire come over for US$4 million,' Gill said, adding that, up until that point, he was not even taking a salary. The company became profitable the following year. Shortly after, Sonoma Brands Capital led a US$13 million fundraising round. Gill still holds a majority stake. The infusion of money allowed Bachan's to increase production at its third-party Bay Area plant and expand its offerings into new Japanese-inspired flavours: sweet honey, miso and roasted garlic, to name a few. The company has launched dipping sauces too. As rivals encroach-barbecue mainstay Kinder's introduced its own Japanese sauce in 2023-Bachan's will soon roll out fresh branding, including rejiggered labels that place more visual emphasis on its name. Gill dreams of a partnership with a national restaurant chain, perhaps Wingstop or Buffalo Wild Wings, though no talks have yet happened, he said. Would Gill ever want to cash out and walk away? Better-for-you condiments are certainly having a (multiyear) moment. In late 2020, McCormick & Co bought the hot sauce brand Cholula from private equity firm L Catterton for US$800 million in cash; last year, Campbell's purchased Sovos Brands, which makes Rao's pasta sauce, in a deal valued at US$2.7 billion. In October, PepsiCo announced it was buying Siete Foods, a seller of salsas and sauces, plus gluten-free tortillas, for US$1.2 billion. Gill said that he has no plans to sell anytime soon. 'We get a lot of firm interest from parties-private-equity firms and large food conglomerates who want to buy the business,' he said. 'But at some point, we may need some help, and I think that's when I would be more open to bringing on a strategic partner.' As for Gill's actual bachan, Judy Yokoyama, she is not involved in the business but is still on occasion the star of the show. Every year, when Gill hosts Bachan's Day in his hometown of Sebastopol, fans line up to meet, greet and share a selfie with the 89-year-old grandmother whose secret recipe started it all. BLOOMBERG
Bloomberg
27-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce
Justin Gill was getting desperate. In his yearslong quest to mass-produce and distribute his grandmother's home-brewed Japanese barbecue sauce without pumping it full of preservatives, he'd borrowed $250,000 from relatives and friends, maxed out his credit cards and turned his Northern California home into a fulfillment center. But he needed more capital in the months following the brand's 2019 release. So the landscaper and father of three resorted to short-term, high-interest loans, where borrowing rates compounded daily. 'Every dollar I could find or borrow, I put into Facebook ads,' says Gill, who prayed that the traffic would translate into sales of the almost $10-a-bottle specialty sauce—which he called Bachan's, after the Japanese word for 'granny'—before one of his creditors seized his house. His desperation turned out to be short-lived. Sales of the umami-forward, savory-sweet condiment exploded, from $35,000 in its first year to $1.5 million in 2020, thanks to Gill's hustling, the brand's healthful sheen and, in no small part, the onset of the pandemic, which dramatically reshaped the way US households shop and cook. Now revenue is on track to exceed $100 million in 2025, says a person familiar with the company who wasn't authorized to speak publicly. (A spokesperson for Bachan's declined to provide specifics on profitability, revenue and other financials.)
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New antibiotic could treat drug-resistant gonorrhea: Study
A new class of antibiotic has been found to be safe and effective in treating gonorrhea in late-stage trials, according to a new study published Monday in The Lancet. The drug, called gepotidacin, works by preventing bacteria from replicating in the body and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in March to treat uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women and in girls 12 years and older. If approved to treat gonorrhea, it will be the newest antibiotic to treat the sexually transmitted infection since the 1990s. The drug is manufactured by the pharmaceutical company GSK and is sold under the name Blujepa. After reaching a historic low in 2009, cases of gonorrhea in the United States steadily increased until 2021 and have slowly declined since then, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Still, gonorrhea is the second most common sexually transmitted infection in the country with, 601,319 reported cases in 2023, according to the agency. Gonorrhea, and other sexually transmitted infections, are becoming more difficult to treat as they become increasingly more resistant to existing antibiotics. The CDC currently recommends providers treat gonorrhea with a 500 mg injection of the antibiotic ceftriaxone. The agency updated its treatment guidelines in 2023, directing providers to administer a higher dose of the drug to combat antibiotic resistance. Justin Gill, an urgent care nurse practitioner and president of the Washington State Nurses Association, told The Hill that he frequently treats gonorrhea and has encountered cases of the infection that are resistant to ceftriaxone. 'There are only a handful of antibiotics that are available as backup options,' he said. 'The development of new antibiotics has been slow, but federal investment in new and emerging antibiotic options is necessary before resistant strains of gonorrhea expand further.' If left untreated, gonorrhea can cause serious health complications that can lead to infertility in both men and women, and it can increase the odds of contracting and passing HIV, according to the CDC. The trial of more than 620 people showed gepotidacin was about 92 percent effective in treating the infection among those who took the drug twice a day. Meanwhile, a regimen of combination ceftriaxone and azithromycin was about 91 percent effective. Stuart Ray, an infectious disease professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who did not take part in the study, said that any progress in safely and effectively treating gonorrhea is 'exciting.' He added that the fact that the drug can be administered in pill form makes it 'attractive.' 'In general, it's very exciting to see a late-stage trial for a new antimicrobial for a thorny problem like gonorrhea,' he said. 'I think it's very exciting to see data and progression of an agent this far down the path.' Ray said that of the more than 600 trial participants, less than 10 percent were women. 'We have to be careful about making conclusions about subgroups that may have been somewhat underrepresented.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
14-04-2025
- Health
- The Hill
New antibiotic could treat drug-resistant gonorrhea, study says
A new class of antibiotic has been found to be safe and effective in treating gonorrhea in late-stage trials, according to a new study published Monday in The Lancet. The drug, called gepotidacin, works by preventing bacteria from replicating in the body and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in March to treat uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women and in girls 12 years and older. If approved to treat gonorrhea, it will be the newest antibiotic to treat the sexually transmitted infection since the 1990s. The drug is manufactured by the pharmaceutical company GSK and is sold under the name Blujepa. After reaching a historic low in 2009, cases of gonorrhea in the United States steadily increased until 2021 and have slowly declined since then, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Still, gonorrhea is the second most common sexually transmitted infection in the country with 601,319 reported cases in 2023, according to the agency. Gonorrhea, and other STIs, are becoming more difficult to treat as they become increasingly more resistant to existing antibiotics. The CDC currently recommends providers treat gonorrhea with a 500 mg injection of the antibiotic ceftriaxone. The agency updated its treatment guidelines in 2023, directing providers to administer a higher dose of the drug to combat antibiotic resistance. Justin Gill, an urgent care nurse practitioner and president of the Washington State Nurses Association, told The Hill that he frequently treats gonorrhea and has encountered cases of the infection that are resistant to ceftriaxone. 'There are only a handful of antibiotics that are available as backup options,' he said. 'The development of new antibiotics has been slow, but federal investment in new and emerging antibiotic options is necessary before resistant strains of gonorrhea expand further.' If left untreated, gonorrhea can cause serious health complications which can lead to infertility in both men and women, as well as increasing the odds of contracting and passing HIV, according to the CDC. The trial of more than 620 people showed gepotidacin was about 92 percent effective in treating the infection among those who took the drug twice a day. Meanwhile, a regimen of combination ceftriaxone and azithromycin was about 91 percent effective. Stuart Ray, an infectious disease professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who did not take part in the study, said that any progress in safely and effectively treating gonorrhea is 'exciting.' He added that the fact that the drug can be administered in pill form makes it 'attractive.' 'In general, it's very exciting to see a late-stage trial for a new antimicrobial for a thorny problem like gonorrhea,' he said. 'I think it's very exciting to see data and progression of an agent this far down the path.' Ray said that of the more than 600 trial participants, less than 10 percent were women. 'We have to be careful about making conclusions about subgroups that may have been somewhat underrepresented.'
