Today we are happy to spend a brief moment with Maria Campos, Founder and Strategy Director in MedSIR.
MedSIR Newsletter Team (MS): Thanks, María, for spending some time with us here today.
Maria Campos (MC): Thank you, I am very proud to enjoy time and life with you
MS: We know you lived in the Pyrenees, working outside the clinical research world… What brought you to do such a big change and create a company like MedSIR?
MC: At that moment, I was working as a freelancer in the clinical research services after several years to be involved in the Medical Affairs departments for many pharmaceutical companies. The good ideas appear when your brain is in motion but relaxed. The peaceful and calming atmosphere, where the time is large, and the mountains, woods, sun and snow as part of your life, generates the best scenario to re-invent everything you desire.
My experience in oncology let me help cooperative groups to develop their own projects, but … something was wrong … something independent clinical research should be changed so that this type of research was put in a value and redesigned. If there are good and bright ideas, why not help creators make it easier for those ideas into advances in research and therefore to benefit cancer patients?
MS: Wonderful! So, together with Dr. Antonio Llombart and Dr. Javier Cortés, you decided to start this amazing trip. Could you tell us your experience working with two Key Opinion Leaders in the field of oncology like them?
MC: Antonio and Javier are two brilliant minds and I was extremely enthusiastic about the idea of work together. It’s quite easy to work with them due to they are world leaders in breast cancer research. As you probably wonder, mental agility and speed of analysis are needed to grasp the concepts their minds are making and to transform them into viable reality in the form of clinical trials. Clinical studies must be created by clinical experts and conducted by scientific professionals, that’s how the results are obtained in the minimum possible time and consuming the least amount of economic and human resources. In my opinion, we are a magnificent team and, without a doubt, the best colleagues to develop such a challenging company.
As a result of 6 years of an amazing work, there are more than twenty talented scientists who have found in MedSIR the best way to bring their ideas to life. The ability to design clinical studies that can improve the lives of patients in the shortest possible time is the added value of our company.
MS: What’s your opinion on how the MedSIR model is being received on the outside.
MC: When you create a new model and a new point of view in the clinical research, all the stakeholders are a bit confused. Five years giving explanations about what we are NOT (we are not a CRO, we are not a cooperative group) is not the best way to introduce a company in this competitive market, but, thanks to our new approach, currently, our financing clients (BigPharma and Biotechs) keep providing resources for the creation of new clinical studies.
The MedSIR model fits perfectly the clinical excellence of independent researchers with the professionalization of the services needed to improve clinical trials. We are convinced that there are economic resources to bring all ideas in any pathology (lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer) to life.
MS: This year we jump to the US with a new office there. Which is the main impact of this big step in terms of business?
MC: This has only just begun! Over sixty European centers of excellence in cancer research in more than 9 countries are conducting MedSIR studies with an international multidisciplinary, pantumoral and international vision. It is great…but not enough. It is essential to build bridges of cooperation with major US centers because talent has no boundaries and research requires a non-competitive model, where the personalized medicine need an optimized collaborative model.
MS: What’s your opinion about the way we work at MedSIR? (#medsirstyle)
MC: MedSIR style means “believe in yourself”! Bad ideas do not exist…you only have to wait the appropriate time to bring it to life.
We truly love meeting and involving people from all over the world in our company, with young and daring ideas. Since clinical scientists and project managers from transverse teams that innovate methodological designs, operational processes and clinical aspects, to Finance people who help our company to grow in the good direction. We are enthusiastic about the creation of an environment that helps anyone to generate their ideas!!
Our life motive: more ideas, more studies, more evidence to understand better how to live with cancer and, concluding, more options for patients.
MS: Tell us more about you… What do you do to free your mind from MedSIR?
MC: What or when? Hahaha …I guess this is the most difficult question of the interview. Over the last six years, my life turned to ORANGE and I really enjoy this project every day. The secret is to have the best team of the world which encourages me to follow changing and adapting our work for the patient’s benefit.
Thanks so much for the opportunity.
