Carmine Jabri // 36
President // E.M.M.A. International Consulting Group Inc., Farmington Hills // Employees: 2 (58 independent contractors) // Revenue: NA
Central Michigan University
For many businesses, complying with Food and Drug Administration regulations and ISO standards is the price of entry into the market, but keeping up with so many requirements can be a costly strain on an organization.
Carmine Jabri saw the situation firsthand in his own career, so he launched E.M.M.A. International Consulting Group Inc. in 2013 to help companies stay on top of regulatory directives. “We’re a management consulting firm with an emphasis on quality management systems and compliance,” Jabri says. “We help FDA-regulated companies — pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biotech, and biologic — establish quality processes and comply with the regulatory requirements of the FDA, European Union, or any other regulatory body across the globe.”
E.M.M.A. (Excellence, Multidimensional, Methodical, Analytical) also keeps track of multiple ISO standards that apply to industries ranging from medical devices to the environment to food for clients in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. For example, if a company receives an “enforcement action” — a warning letter or consent decree — from the FDA, the company develops a corrective course of action.
“Companies can struggle with an enforcement action because they may lack resources,” Jabri says. “Once a warning letter is received, you have 15 business days to respond. We deploy consultants to help them respond and create a remediation plan.”
Jabri moved to Michigan in 2013 after working in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries in the Washington, D.C., area. He says he started E.M.M.A. out of frustration. “We found a lack of specialty solutions and expertise in a lot of these consulting firms. We wanted to understand a (client’s) needs and provide customizable solutions with seasoned experts.” Jabri is working with Oakland County’s Medical Main Street and the trade group MichBio to establish a local client base. “We’re definitely looking to the future, and we certainly think there’s a lot of opportunity for growth,” he says.
