Julio Martinez-Clark, co-founder and CEO of bioaccess®, recently joined host Paul David on Tech Can’t Save Us — the podcast by Literal Humans that explores technology’s real-world limits and what it takes to build companies that last. The episode is now live across all major podcast platforms.
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Full episode on the TCSU website
The “Valley of Death” — And How MedTech Startups Survive It
The conversation opens with a sobering reality: roughly 90% of healthcare startups fail — not because their technology is flawed, but because they exhaust their capital before generating the clinical data needed to raise their next round or secure an exit.
With monthly burn rates averaging $300,000 to $400,000, the clock is always running. The fastest path off the clock is the fastest path to first-in-human data.
That’s the problem bioaccess® was purpose-built to solve.
What bioaccess® Does — and Why LATAM
bioaccess® is the world’s first contract research organization (CRO) built specifically around first-in-human (FIH) clinical trials. By combining deep site relationships, regulatory expertise, and operational infrastructure across Latin American markets — including Panama and El Salvador — bioaccess® compresses clinical timelines by up to 40%.
As Julio explained on the podcast, speed in LATAM doesn’t mean cutting corners. Every trial bioaccess® runs adheres strictly to ICH and GCP guidelines — the same international standards required by the FDA and EMA. What differs is execution: rapid site activation, predictable patient recruitment, and a team that has done this before, in these markets, for these device types.
Democratizing Access to Life-Saving Innovation
One of the most compelling threads in the conversation is the human dimension of clinical research. The patients who participate in first-in-human trials in lower-income settings often have no other access to advanced medical care. For them, participation isn’t a transaction — it’s a lifeline.
Julio discussed how this dynamic shapes bioaccess®’s philosophy: that moving faster on clinical timelines is not just a business imperative but a moral one. Compassionate, high-quality clinical research restores dignity and delivers access to innovations that would otherwise take years longer to reach these communities.
Building Without Outside Capital
The episode also covers bioaccess®’s self-funded growth strategy — a deliberate choice that has kept the company focused on delivering value to sponsors rather than chasing metrics that serve investors. Julio shares the discipline required to grow this way and the common mistakes he sees first-time founders make when they let fundraising urgency drive clinical decision-making.
La Cebolla de Pandora
Julio reflects on the period he spent writing La Cebolla de Pandora — a book that gave him the space to examine his own assumptions about what success, purpose, and impact actually mean in the context of a company trying to change how medicine reaches people.
Listen Now
The full episode runs 26 minutes. You can find it on the Tech Can’t Save Us website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.
If you’re a MedTech or biopharma startup navigating your path to first-in-human data, explore how bioaccess® can compress your timeline →
Tech Can’t Save Us is produced by Literal Humans, a marketing agency focused on technology and innovation.
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