Show notes
On the Underdog Physician Podcast, Anish interviews Julio G. Martinez-Clark, CEO of BioAccess, about his path from electrical engineering in Colombia and an MBA in Boston to building a contract research organization focused on medtech first-in-human and early-phase OUS trials. He explains how his brother Pedro’s work revealed major U.S. barriers—IRB delays, FDA uncertainty, investigator access, patient recruitment, and high costs—driving startups overseas, and how BioAccess professionalized trials in Latin America, growing to ~40 employees and expanding to Australia, Eastern Europe, and biopharma. Julio shares how the pandemic forced remote proctoring with OR cameras and iPads, enabling 33 procedures and Zoom-based consent. He discusses why independent hospitals and patient access dynamics speed trials in Latin America, early regulatory confusion in Colombia that led BioAccess to push legal changes, team-building lessons, bootstrapping vs fundraising, launching and rebranding his podcast to Global Trial Accelerators, and his legacy goal of maximizing human impact, including updating Colombia’s clinical research law.00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro00:41 Julio’s Origin Story02:59 BioAccess Is Born05:02 Scaling Across Regions05:43 Pandemic Trial Reinvention08:42 Why LatAm Moves Faster12:12 Regulatory Roadblocks14:26 Building a Winning Team17:13 Bootstrapping and Funding19:14 Launching the Podcast22:37 LinkedIn as Growth Engine25:17 Life, Travel, Balance27:29 Legacy and Law Reform29:53 Closing Thanks