SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Scientist.com, the world's largest marketplace for outsourced research, announced today that it raised $24M in an equity financing co-led by Boston-based Leerink Transformation Partners (LTP) and San Francisco and Boston-based 5AM Ventures. Heritage Provider Network, Bootstrap Ventures and Hollywood producer Jack Giarraputo also participated. The funding will help the company expand its revolutionary pharmaceutical outsourcing marketplace.
The ongoing need and opportunity to improve pharmaceutical R&D efficiency is well documented. Last year marked a six-year low for new drug approvals; the industry spent $150 billion on R&D in 2016 but produced only 22 new medicines – well below the five-year average (2012-2016) of 29. The cost of bringing a single new drug to market has now reached as much as $7 billion, and profit margins have declined precipitously over the last 20 years.
“It is too expensive and time-consuming to bring new drugs to market,” said Jared Kesselheim, Managing Partner of LTP. “The outsourcing platform built by Scientist.com has enabled pharmaceutical companies to run drug programs in less time and at a fraction of today’s cost. We expect the marketplace to continue to be a game-changer for life science research, creating huge efficiencies for pharma companies and the entire scientific community.”
Scientist.com connects buyers and sellers of pharmaceutical research services, showcases the latest innovative tools and technologies and streamlines the entire ‘source-to-settle’ process. The company currently has multi-year partnerships with 12 of the top 25 large pharmaceutical companies and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Thousands of commercial suppliers (CROs) have already joined the Scientist.com network.
“We are fundamentally changing the way drug R&D is conducted,” said Kevin Lustig, PhD, President and CEO of Scientist.com. “Pharmaceutical company researchers can now outsource everything but the genius™, limited only by their imagination in the experiments they carry out. This investment will help us expand our seasoned team of industry experts and bring even more simplification and innovation to drug research.”
Scientist.com is extending the benefits of its platform to smaller, early-stage biopharmaceutical companies. An increasing number of biopharma start-ups are outsourcing many or all the laboratory tests, services and studies needed to run a complex, multi-year drug discovery and development program. A private marketplace located at app.scientist.com enables these virtual companies to run an entire drug program, from concept to clinic, using only their laptop computers and mobile phones.
“Scientist.com is pioneering a dramatically more efficient approach to drug research, enabling both large and small biopharmaceutical companies,” stated Paul Stone, 5AM Partner. “By solving the primary challenges currently facing the drug industry - how to effectively develop more medicines while reducing costs - the company has created a game-changing platform for all life science research.”
About Scientist.com
Scientist.com (formerly Assay Depot) is the world's largest scientific services marketplace. The marketplace simplifies research sourcing, saves time and money, and showcases innovative tools and technologies - while maintaining full compliance with an organization’s procurement policies. Scientist.com currently operates private marketplaces for 12 large pharmaceutical companies and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Other clients include hundreds of small pharmaceutical companies, government organizations, research universities, biotechnology companies, regional bioclusters and academic labs. Visit scientist.com to learn more.
About Leerink Transformation Partners (LTP)
LTP invests in privately-held innovative companies in the healthcare technology and services sectors. The firm was founded in 2015 by Todd Cozzens and Jared Kesselheim, M.D. Todd, most recently at Sequoia Capital, had a long operating career as CEO of Picis and as a senior executive at UnitedHealth Group/Optum. Jared, most recently at Bain Capital Ventures, was formerly a clinician at Massachusetts General Hospital. LTP applies its decades of operational and clinical experience and its extensive industry contacts to help founders and CEOs build important businesses. Founders today want more than just money and nowhere is this more apparent than in the complex, insular and dynamic healthcare market. Visit www.LTPequity.com to learn more.
About 5AM Ventures
Founded in 2002, 5AM Ventures actively invests in next-generation life science companies. With ~$1 billion under management, 5AM has invested in over 60 companies and successful exits include DVS Sciences (acquired by Fluidigm), Envoy Therapeutics (acquired by Takeda), Flexion Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FLXN), Ikaria (acquired by Mallinckrodt), Ilypsa (acquired by Amgen), Incline Therapeutics (acquired by The Medicines Company), Marcadia Biotech (acquired by Roche), Novira Therapeutics (acquired by J&J), Pearl Therapeutics (acquired by AstraZeneca) and Relypsa (Nasdaq: RLYP, acquired by Galenica). Visit www.5amventures.com to learn more.
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