Medable raises $91 million for its clinical trial management software

The clinical trial management software developer Medable has raised $91 million in a new round of financing as life sciences companies struggle with how to conduct the necessary validation studies of new drugs and devices in a pandemically challenged environment.

Digital and decentralized clinical trials are becoming a necessity, given the health and safety guidelines that have been adopted to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said. And those changes are driving a shift to services like Medable's as companies move through the approval process, the company said in a statement.

The company's new $91 million financing was led by Sapphire Ventures, with follow-on investment from existing investors GSR Ventures, PPD, Inc. and Streamlined Ventures.

Medable's software manages recruitment, remote screening, electronic consent, clinical outcomes assessment (eCOA), eSource, telemedicine and connected devices, the company said.

Its software is already being used to work on vaccines and therapeutics targeting COVID-19 specifically in addition to facilitating the development of other potentially life-saving therapies and treatments.

“The pandemic has made the world aware of the importance of clinical drug development,” said Dr. Michelle Longmire, CEO and co-founder of Medable, in a statement. “We need transformative technologies that break down critical barriers to improve patient access, experience and outcomes. This new funding will enable Medable to continue our aggressive pursuit of new technologies that improve clinical trials to benefit all patients.”

Trials underway in more than 60 countries are using the service, and Medable has inked partnerships with companies like Datavant to integrate multiple data sources for decentralized trials; MRN to handle home and remote visits; and AliveCor to track in-home health with electrocardiograms.