MCA Foundation:

Preparing our Region for the Future of Healthcare

and Innovation

Vianey Romo, Workforce Coordinator

Michaele Linden Johnson, Director of Clinical Trials and Business Development

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• Geographic isolation

• 3 states = 3 major cities are the “red-headed step children” of the states

• 2 countries = international boundary

• Low skill / low wage manufacturing emphasis for 50 years

• Flight of manufacturing to China, etc. in the 80s & 90s

• Medically underserved rural communities / very difficult to recruit medical professionals

The Need

Act Regionally To Compete Globally3

El Paso,

Texas

Las Cruces, NM Juarez,

Mexico

Development of a Regional Vision

• Healthcare

• Improves health

• Contributes to improved “quality of life” essential for

recruiting business, professionals

• Stable / good paying jobs all along the professional

spectrum

• Many “related” industries (e.g., Health IT, biomedical

innovation, medical manufacturing, Clinical research )

• Tremendous education and research requirements

New Dean; moved into the MCA’s Cardwell Collaborative; growing faculty

& new centers, including Institute for Healthy Eating & Active Living

2000

5

TTUHSC - 2 year Lubbock program

Since 1973

TTUHSC El Paso- independent university status + $180M new buildings

- 4-year medical school; nursing school; graduate school of biomed sciences;

residents/fellows, upcoming dental school

- new private academic teaching hospital with Tenet

UTEP – historical focus on engineering,

geological sciences, etc.

UTEP: - Achieved Tier 1 Research Institution status (Jan. 2019)- New buildings ($270MM): biological sciences, chemistry/computer science,

nursing/health sciences, bio-engineering, interdisciplinary research building

- New programs: pharmacy, nursing, public health

Tenet & HCA Hospitals, status quo

County hospital in financial trouble

3 major hospital renovations, including county hospital

6 new hospitals, including Children’s, TTUHSC/Tenet, 2 in Juarez, DOD

3,000 daily users of MCA Campus13,000 daily users of MCA Medical Campus (MCA Campus Master Plan,

phase I,II & III + SmartCode + TIRZ + incentive zone + utility & traffic plan

MCA Today

- $50MM in assets; $5MM annual operating budgetMCA Foundation non-existent

NMSU land grant universityPartnered with Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine

UT Houston School of Public Health,

El Paso Campus

2020

Who We Are:

Mission Statement

To develop and catalyze the life sciences

ecosystem in the Paso del Norte region.

Vision Statement

To cultivate a dynamic health industry and

innovation / entrepreneurship ecosystem

that competes globally.

What We Do…

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We operate a strong organization to be able to accomplish our mission through these activities:

Infrastructure

❖Land Acquisition

❖Environmental Remediation

❖Infrastructure Development (roads, sidewalks, utilities, ponds, parks, etc.)

❖MCA Campus Master Planning

❖Development & Property Management:

▪ Cardwell Collaborative

▪ VA Wellness Center

Programs

❖Healthcare Think Tank

❖Workforce/ STEM Initiatives

❖Innovation Center

❖POC & Seed Fund

❖Clinical Trials Consortium

❖BIO El Paso-Juarez

❖Potential future projects:

▪ Translational Research Institute

▪ Medical Device Product Development Lab

▪ Jeff / Silva HS transformation

Major Accomplishments

Master Planning, Land Acquisition, & TTUHSC SON

• 3 MCA Campus Master Plans

• $180k EDA grant

• Over 14 acres acquired

• Over $500k of environl remediation

• Funded development of TTUHSC SON

Cardwell Collaborative

• Built on-time & on-budget

• $24 million project funded

• $3 million in NMTCs

• 80% paid occupancy after 3 years

Innovation Center & Seed Fund

• Supported over 20 start ups in 2

years & 27 innovators

• Won prestigious EDA i6

Challenge ($750k) and Seed

Fund ($300k) grants

VA Wellness Clinic

• Won competitive bid

• 20-year lease agreement

• $16 million project funded

• $5 million in NMTCs

• On-time, on-budget

BIO-EPJ

• Launched 501c6

• Over 35 members & $100k

membership revenue

• $180k EDA grant

• Completed bi-national biomedical

ecosystem mapping project

MCA Organization

• Secured City Impact Fund & complied

with all requirements for 8 years

• Raised $9 million in capital campaign

• Closed 2 NMTC deals & complied

HC Think Tank & Clinical Trials

• Recruited 3 IROs to EP

• 6 new hires in EP

• 15 new trained PIs in EP

• Comprehensive HC industry

strategic planning

Almost 14 years of flexible Persistence has yielded significant

accomplishments. You can be proud!

The MCA Campus of the Future…

Cardwell

Collaborative

• Completed in June 2016

• LEED Silver Certified

• 60,000 sf – offices, wet &

dry labs,

meeting/collaboration

spaces

• Shared lab equipment

• Laboratory safety

program

• 20+ start-ups

Innovation

CenterCohort 3 (2019 -2020)

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

- Steve Jobs

“Our future growth relies on competitiveness and innovation,

skills and productivity… and these in turn rely on the education of

our people.”- Julia Gillard

Core Offerings • Innovation Boot Camps

• STTR/ SBIR Workshops

• Start-Up Company Resources

• Access to State-Of-The-Art Facilities & Equipment

• Seed Funding

• Mentorship/ Advisors/ Office Hours

• Resource Network (Healthcare Providers/ Professionals)

Potential Future Offering• Healthcare Boot Camps

• Fundamentals of Healthcare Practices

• HC Payment Mechanisms

• Revenue Cycle (charge capture, coding & billing)

• Accounting for HC practices

• Health Policy Update

• Health IT

• Healthcare Compliance

40 members

15 leads

Medical Device Development & Manufacturing

• 30 + Factories • Employing 40,000 + workers• Producing Class I, II and III medical devices

Founding Members

Healthcare

Programs

Core Programming (On-going Programming)• Events, Networking, Education

• HC Events – Primer (1X/Year) / HC Summit / Awards (1X/Year)• Webinar-Podcast (1X/month)

• Regional Vision, Goals & Measures, Health Disparities• Market Entrants (research and Introductions)• HC Data & Research Hub • Clinical Care & Collaboration• HC Grants / FundingSub-Program(s)• Clinical Trials• MMTP • CoE--Desert Health• COVID-19

MCA Program AssistanceMCA Campus Innovation Center• Resource Network• HC Bootcamps• Tech Tuesdays• HC Innovation Challenge (Manufacturing & HC Providers) - Winners win $

and/or pilot site opportunities• Product DevelopmentBIO-EPJ• Recruit BIO-EPJ Members• Prototype Development, Scale & Manufacturing

MCA STEM Innovation Lab Camp

MCA Foundation

• A FREE* One-Day STEM Focused Camp that will introduce students to STEM fields – with a special focus on healthcare, biomedical industries and innovation in our region.

• 4 Components• Introduction to the MCA

• Career Exploration

• Tour of Building

• Demonstrations and Hands-on Experiments

* School/group is responsible for transportation & lunch

Snapshot of STEM Camp

MCA Foundation

Agenda is subject to change

STEM Camp Statistics

Total # of camps: 14

Total # of students: 382

Total #of schools: 9

Total # of school districts: 4

MCA Foundation

Demonstrations & Hands-on Experiments

Clinical Trials Landscape

“I have often wondered if there are medical treatments that never made it to patients because of the lack of clinical trial participation.”

Clinical

Trials

Consortium

Mission: to expand and accelerate our region’s infrastructure and competitiveness in clinical research and innovation.

30+ key industry stakeholders from the US and Mexico

• Improve health of individuals in our region• Improve regional access to healthcare innovators• Lead in the development of new medicines, medical devices/diagnostics• Expand the region’s attractiveness for biomedical research• Facilitate clinical trial innovation, operational excellence & collaboration• Advance niche areas matching our region’s core capabilities and health

disparities

30 + Institutions

6 Partnershttps://mcamericas.org/clinical-trials

What is Clinical Research?

The Definition, The Types, How It’s Different and The Clinical Research Process

How is Clinical Research Different?

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Type Basic or Foundational

Research

Translational

Research

Clinical

Research

Purpose

To understand at a very

basic level some aspect of

biology

This research is needed to

show that a drug or device

works in some living system

before it is used on humans

To test the safety and

effectiveness of drugs,

diagnostic tests, and

devices that could be used

in the detection, treatment,

prevention or tracking of a

disease

Important

Aspects

Basic research generates

new ideas, principles, and

theories, which may not be

immediately utilized but

nonetheless form the basis

of progress and

development in different

fields

Often called “bench-to-

bedside” or

research (referring to the

research bench and the

patient’s bedside) or

“applied” research (of

applying basic research to

solve a real-world problem)

The cornerstone of clinical

research is the clinical trial.

Clinical research is done in

humans and within the

healthcare environment

Typically

funded by

The Government (such as

National Institutes of Health

– NIH)

The Government,

Universities, Patient

Associations / Foundations

(such as Michael J. Fox

Foundation for Parkinson’s

Research, the Gates

Foundation)

Pharmaceutical or medical

device companies

Characteristics of Successful Clinical Research Professional

Knowledge Skills and Abilities Attitudes & Behavior

• Medical Terminology • Attention to detail

• Excellent verbal and written

communication skills

• Connection and collaboration

• Cool under pressure

• Strong organizational capabilities

• Creativity

• Critical Thinking Skills

• Customer Focused

• Empathetic

• Flexible and Adaptable

• Professional

• Multi-tasker

• Self-Directed

• Team Player

• Tech Savvy

• Commitment

• Curiosity

• Enthusiasm

• Humbleness

• Integrity

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Despite these advances, we still have lots of challenges and need talented people to help solve them!

Million children are saved

each year by vaccines

New types of antibiotics

have been developed

since 1928

Antiretroviral treatments

have been developed

for HIV/AIDS

Survival rates for patients

with cancer have increased

dramatically

Decline in infant mortality

over the past 20 years

Decrease in chronic

disability among seniors

2.5m 19 35+ 300

40% 30%

New treatments have

been developed in the

last 10 years for

hard-to-treat diseases

Reduction in the death rates

for coronary heart disease

and stroke

60%

National Institutes of Health-funded Research Contributions

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To learn more about health statistics and the impact of diseases,

visit the World Health Organization, http://origin.who.int/features/factfiles/global_burden/en/

Job Growth Potential and Salary Opportunities

Secure Your Future

Source: https://money.cnn.com/gallery/pf/2017/01/05/best-jobs-2017/84.html

The CRA role has been in the

Top 100 Best Jobs in America

for a few years and in 2012 it

was #4!

This role has experienced an

8% growth rate for the past 10

years

It has a high quality of life

rating!

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Job Opportunities

Typical Salary Ranges for Key Roles

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Based on December 2019 Survey of Salaries Posted on Glassdoor

Role Low Average High

CTAClinical Trial Assistant

$31,000 $51,000 $74,000

CRCClinical Research

Coordinator

$41,000 $57,000 $80,000

CRAClinical Research

Associate

$58,000 $84,000 $108,000

Considering a Career in Clinical Research

Clinical research is an important

part of the healthcare industry, an

industry that is expanding faster

than any other (in the U.S.)

Combine the overall growth of

healthcare sector, with rapid

growth of new technologies and

innovations, clinical research

presents a huge employment

opportunity which should see

continued growth for a long time

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What Types of Careers are Involved?

Take a Glance at Where You Could be Working

How to Get Started?

Find Your Element and More

ACRPEntry Level CRC Competency & Development Roadmap:https://acrpnet.org/2020/04/20/acrp-publishes-free-resource-to-support-crc-workforce-development/

Help us to Grow the Clinical Trial Workforce

|

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Students interested in clinical research as a career option can now go to the “Find Your Element” website developed and funded by members of ACRP’s Partners in Workforce

Advancement (PWA).

careersinclinicalresearch.org

Teachers / Professional Resources:

PowerPoint & Fact Sheet Files

https://careersinclinicalresearch.org/recruitment-tools

ACRP: acrpnet.org

Q & A

Thank You

Vianey RomoWorkforce Coordinator

Vianey@mcamericas.org

Michaele Linden JohnsonDirector of Clinical Trials and Business Development

Michaele@mcamericas.org