Jessica McKenzie Mays, VP of Life Sciences at 20/20 Onsite

In the year 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented health and economic crisis across the globe with ramifications felt in every area of life. The Boston-based vision care start-up, 20/20 Onsite, had to scale back operations abruptly when the pandemic lockdown and travel restrictions were put in place.

Jess Mays was only four months into onboarding at her new employment as Director of Client Success at 20/20 Onsite during the pandemic. While many businesses were forced to close shop indefinitely due to COVID, the team at 20/20 Onsite bonded together, brainstormed creative solutions, and demonstrated the resilience and grit needed to survive the global crisis.

At the time, 20/20 Onsite started to receive significant numbers of inbound calls from biopharmaceutical companies looking to rescue and assist with patient retention for various clinical trials. Jess sat down with the leadership of 20/20 Onsite and had a true heart-to-heart discussion. She was given the green light to pilot the efforts needed to support these trials, saying, “We saw the opportunity to reach clinical trial participants in safe non-congregate settings with our uniquely equipped and customizable Mobile Vision Clinics.”

In the fall of 2020, Jess hit the ground running to lead the newly created Life Sciences initiative at 20/20 Onsite and hasn’t stopped. From the early discussions to testing, if there was a viable market to networking and relationship building now as the VP of Life Sciences, Jess pioneered and laid the foundation for the growing Life Science branch of the business at 20/20 Onsite.

Thanks to her work, 20/20 Onsite is now one of the leading providers of onsite eye assessments for clinical research, reducing patient friction, accelerating timelines, and enhancing data quality by bringing expert eye care directly to the point of need.

In her early career, Jess Mays worked in a variety of industries including non-profit, technical, clinical trials, and start-ups. The common thread was her gravitation to early-stage growth companies. All her experiences culminated into a unique skill set and developed a passion for innovation and improving accessibility to care which is the mission of 20/20 Onsite.

20/20 Onsite was awarded The Massachusetts Innovation Network Eddies Award for Healthy Living & Well-Being in November 2023 and the BostInno’s Fire Award in 2022.

Due to her sales initiative, the team has now supported 18 clinical trials across the USA, and seen over 1,700 clinical trial patients, truly bringing eye care and assessments to the point of need.

The clinical trials industry is an integral part of the larger bio-pharmaceutical and healthcare ecosystem. According to the National Institutes for Health (NIH), clinical trials are “at the heart of all medical advances." One of the most critical barriers in clinical trials is patient accessibility, which is exactly what 20/20 Onsite solutions address by optimizing patient access.

In her own words, “We’ve brought our technology and specialists on the road and are moving the dial on clinical trial participants, decentralizing access, and increasing patient focus. The process eliminates roadblocks to critical mid-trial and final assessments, increases participation, collects data, and helps bring new drugs and treatments to the market faster.”

The mission of 20/20 Onsite to improve access to eye care for all with its bright yellow mobile vision clinics transformed to branch into improving patient accessibility for clinical trials.

The work of 20/20 Onsite has been a game changer in the clinical trial industry because the mobile vision clinics are a solution for the primary obstacle in ophthalmic trials: geographical access to patients. Individuals with specific eye conditions may be spread across various regions, complicating efforts to recruit sufficient numbers for statistically significant results. Traditional trial designs often require patient travel to centralized clinics equipped with specialized equipment and trained personnel. This travel burden can result in high dropout rates (estimated as high as 30%), delayed timelines, and increased costs.

The 20/20 Onsite mobile vision clinics optimize patient reach by:

Reducing Patient Burden: Eliminating travel minimizes inconvenience, enabling greater participation from individuals with mobility issues or those in remote areas.

Improving Recruitment and Retention: With 80% of US clinical trials failing to meet enrollment timelines, convenient access enhances trial participation, leading to faster enrollment and higher retention rates.

Expanding Geographical Reach: Mobile vision clinics can reach underserved populations and diverse communities, improving data quality and generalizability.