Inato, based in Paris, France, possesses a platform that matches a clinical trial site with a sponsor, but in a fashion that increases the pool of available patients, the company suggests.
As a result of the offering, Obvious Ventures and Cathay Innovation joined previous backers, in Serena and Fly Ventures, to fund Inato to the tune of $14m (€12.7m).
Despite being the company’s first significant financing round, it has already aided the operations of over 50 global clinical trials across 2,000 research sites.
“Five percent of the world’s research sites are conducting the vast majority of today’s clinical trials. When you consider that the average cost of bringing a drug to market is around $2 billion, with about two-thirds of those costs tied to clinical trials, it’s clear there’s an urgent need for greater efficiency,” said Inato Co-Founder and CEO Kourosh Davarpanah.
Davarpanah continued to suggest Inato will work to bring doctors, and their patients, into its clinical research ‘ecosystem’.
The company will use the funds raised to improve its platform’s predictive capabilities, in matching sites with clinical trials, and to develop a global network of clinicians. Currently, Inato states that the product’s algorithm can help reduce the number of sites needed in a study by 29%.
In addition to Obvious Ventures’ investment, its managing director, Nan Li, will also join Inato’s board of directors.