After the Covid-19 pandemic put several clinical trials on hold, many companies were forced to shift to a virtual approach to resume their research. This presented an opportunity for startups providing decentralized clinical trials services, a once nascent but now booming business — even CVS Health recently launched its own decentralized clinical trials unit.
Curebase, a San Francisco-based company building software for remote clinical trials, recently raised $15 million in funding.
The company touts its ability to give physicians outside of big academic medical centers the ability to participate in clinical trials, by giving them access to virtual research coordinators and software tools. Clinicians also receive compensation through the platform for work conducted as part of a study, such as virtual or in-person visits.
After consenting patients for a trial, Curebase is able to collect their data over the course of their care, Founder and CEO Tom Lemberg wrote in an email. It shares de-identified data with its research sponsors under the terms of the consent.
In the last year, Curebase said its revenue has tripled. It currently has more than 25 customers, including two publicly traded biopharma companies and a contract research organization, he wrote.
It also ran six Covid-19 trials at pop-up community testing sites, including one that was used to garner an emergency use authorization for a rapid antigen test developed by diagnostics startup Lumostics. For the study, Curebase’s software was used to screen participants and provide consent while they were in their vehicles.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
GGV, which primarily invests in software companies, led the series A round.
“At GGV we look for companies that are redefining massive categories by building ambitious, ground-up software platforms,” GGV Capital Managing Partner Jeff Richards, who is joining the company’s board, said in a news release.
The three-year old startup plans to use the funds to expand into new therapeutic areas and build a presence in the European clinical trial market.
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