Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1231107
A ARON ALI, MD, anesthesiologist and CEO of MedtoMarket, is tired of the status quo in health care and is looking to shake things up. His 31,683-square-foot medical training and co-working facility, located in south-central Austin's St. Elmo District, is just the place to do it. INNOVATION STATION MedtoMa rket, which was founded by practicing physicia ns, ha s a mission of helping medica l innovators get to ma rket faster — by doing things in a new way. The facility, which contains 35 offices filled with every thing from bioskills resea rch a nd tra ining, to physicia n access, to multi-use space, a llows MedtoMarket to provide the resources a sta r tup compa ny needs to bring their visions to life. The facility includes a wet lab, mock OR a nd la rge skills labs, plus the kinds of amenities found in typica l tech incubator spaces, such as meeting spaces, a la rge pitch room for presentations, a lounge a rea a nd even a free workout facilit y. It 's a n ecosystem where a l l the dif ferent elements, from t he bi g med ica l dev ice compa n ies to t hose who sponsor clinica l tria ls, a ll work side-by-side with physicia ns, nurses a nd patients. Add a la rge dose of entrepreneuria l spirit, a nd something ma g ic seems to happen. "When I walk through there, I see different companies talking to each other, and they're sharing resources or sharing person- nel," Dr. Ali notes. "They're sharing stories, which I think that's one of the coolest things. It gives me a big smile to see that. They're kind of creating their own value amongst each other." STREAMLINING SUCCESS One success stor y to which Dr. A li proudly points is T VA Medica l, a g roup in Austin that developed a novel t y pe of arterial-venous fistula for dialysis. TVA came to MedtoMarket to collect data for its FDA approva l. "During the process of [TVA] coming in, using our facilities and asking us questions, we ended up giving them even more ideas about how they can enhance their procedure," Dr. A li says. "As physicia ns a nd a nesthesiologists who have been doing these cases, we had a couple of ideas for them, and they took those and put them in the process. They actua lly started using our ideas in their clinica l tria ls." Within weeks of gaining FDA clearance for their everlinQ endoAV F System for hemodia lysis, T VA wa s acquired by Becton, Dickinson, and Company. According to Dr. A li, " We were a very integra l part of creating a more efficient process and letting them get to the finish line a little faster." EMBRACING NEW IDEAS AND TECHNOLOGY Another medica l startup ma king a positive impact is San Antonio's Paramount Research Network (PRN), which part- ners with physicians and clinics to facilitate the conduct of phase 2–4 clinical trials and deliver high-quality data to sponsors. Innovators Introducing Paradigm Shifts Across Multiple Sectors and Support COVID-19 Collaboration BY DAVID MOORE "I THINK WE'VE BUILT A VERY UNIQUE AND DISRUPTIVE MEDICAL ECOSYSTEM." From left to right: Aaron Ali, MD, CEO of MedtoMarket; Holly Bain, Founder and CEO of Paramount Research Network; Mario Sierra, Business Strategist with Paramount Research Network 0 6❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R S T O R Y