The future of clinical trials is decentral, virtual, and data-driven

The background

Clinical trials are essential for medical and life science innovation and represent a significant cost bucket. It's certainly no surprise that the COVID 19 pandemic has imposed boundaries on the industry — boundaries that startups are now looking to displace: They want to help make clinical trials more digital to reach patients and, most importantly, more efficient and effective.

In any case, they have already attracted the attention of investors:

• In early May, LA-based Science 37, a developer of a decentralized clinical trial operating system, announced a SPAC merger with LifeSci Acquisition II. The proposed transaction values Science 37 at more than $1bn.
• Similarly, Medable raised $194m in the past year to tap into the growing opportunity in decentralized digital clinical trials.
• Likewise, Florence Healthcare – a software developer for managing document and data flow between research sites and sponsors – announced an $80m Series C last week.

Remember: Startup activity is often a symptom of a long-needed change.

Our perspective

As in many other medical fields, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced clinical trial companies to become more patient-centered and inclusive. The pandemic acted as an accelerator for innovation. Clinical trial designs have had to adapt significantly: Remote patient monitoring, virtual study designs, BigTech’s data collaboration approaches (e.g. Apple ResearchKit and CareKit or Facebook’s Preventive Health), and direct-to-patient assessments are just a few of many new digital attempts to become more efficient and effective.

From the patient's perspective, these developments are a highly welcomed change in modus operandi. But the clinical trials industry also participates strongly. All three essential clinical trials pillars — study set-up, activation, and evaluation — are being addressed by digital innovations and can draw on small startup ecosystems. Medable and Science 37 go just one step further and offer not only disaggregated special solutions but an end-to-end service.