Clinical trial tech provider Florence has announced the closing of an $80m million Series C funding round. According to the company, the infusion of funds will enable it to expand the reach of its technology, which will help lead to additional growth in decentralized trials and increase the efficiency of drug development lifecycles.
Blake Adams, vice president of marketing for Florence, told Outsourcing-Pharma that the funding comes at a time when clinical trial professionals are quickly realizing two things: the shift to digital technology and remote connectivity will continue, and investing in “site-first” software is a must.
“For too long sponsors and CROs selected technology vendors that mostly ignored the site and Investigator team; we've flipped that paradigm on its head by focusing our efforts on the experience of the study sites," Adams said. "Now we have 8,500 of them in 34 countries on our platform and work with some of the leading pharma companies in the world like Pfizer.”
Adams added that while COVID-19 created a long list of challenges for the Florence team, it also led to a wealth of opportunities.
“We had to balance a real-world need for our platform to save lives with the realities of managing a tech company in a COVID world; of course, this transition accelerated the move to remote connectivity, which our platform powers,” he commented. “This is just the beginning, and we're excited to be a key player in the next phase of clinical trial operations.”
Adams told OSP the company headquarters will remain in Atlanta, but the company is looking at hiring more staff where needed.
“We are actively adding dozens of roles to our team and will continue to hire people who are passionate about making an impact in clinical research operations through technology,” Adams said.
Florence CEO Ryan Jones added, “This investment will allow us to continue connecting research stakeholders, advancing cures, and giving investigators more time for who matters most: patients."
The company reported rapid growth over the course of the past year, with nearly 3m research actions during March 2021 alone. Jon Rosenbaum, principal at Insight Partners (the firm leading the funding round), said the company offers the right set of solutions to help drive successful outcomes in clinical trials.
“Florence’s focus on sites’ adoption of software, with the entirety of the pharma value chain in mind, gives them a unique opportunity to drive value in clinical trials,” Rosenbaum said. “We are delighted to partner with Florence as they influence the future of clinical trials to expedite medical solutions and advance human health.”
As part of the financing arrangement, Rosenbaum and Insight Partners managing director Peter Sobiloff (former Medidata chairman) will join Florence’s board of directors.
