US-based clinical trials platform operator Science 37 completed a $40m funding round yesterday co-led by contract research organisation PPD, venture capital firm Lux Capital and hedge fund Redmile Group.
Pharmaceutical firms Novartis, Amgen and Sanofi all participated in the round, the latter through its Sanofi Ventures unit, and they were joined by GV, an early-stage investment arm of internet technology group Alphabet.
Mubadala Ventures, the VC arm of United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, filled out the oversubscribed round together with growth equity firm Glynn Capital and VC firm LifeSci Ventures.
Science 37 has built a software platform to facilitate decentralised clinical trials. It allows researchers to recruit and monitor patients through telemedicine systems and at-home nursing, rather than requiring participants to visit a clinic.
The funding will enable the company to support business growth, further develop its service and accelerate its international expansion activities. It has now received more than $141m in equity financing altogether.
PPD had previously led a $35m series D round for Science 37 in March 2019 that included DRx Capital, a joint investment company set up by Novartis and mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, as well as GV, Redmile Group, Lux Capital and Glynn Capital.
Glynn Capital led the company’s $29m series C round in 2017, investing with GV, Sanofi Ventures and Amgen Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of Amgen, as well as DRx Capital, Lux Capital and Redmile Group.
Science 37 had secured $31m in a series B round led by Redmile the year before that included Sanofi subsidiary Sanofi Genzyme BioVentures as well as DRx Capital and Lux Capital, the two investors that co-led its $6.5m series A round in 2015.
