Clinical trial matching platform Antidote raises $11m

Antidote Technologies, a UK-based clinical trial matching platform, has raised £11m in a funding round led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund (GHI) and joined by existing investors Smedvig Capital and Octopus Ventures.

Helping patients find medical trials online, the start-up has made 14,000 ‘matches’ to date, and plans to reach full coverage of US trials next year with added features, such as matching cancer patients to studies using mutation-level data.

According to Antidote, 80% of clinical trials are delayed or closed due to a lack of patients taking part, with the start-up claiming its “on a mission to solve this critical problem by transforming the way patients and researchers connect”.

Now serving more than 180 leading patient communities such as JDRF, Lung Cancer Alliance, and Healthline, patients simply answer questions about their health, and the platform provides matching studies in their neighborhood.

Co-founded by Pablo Graiver, and previously called TrialReach, the company is already a participant in the Cancer Moonshot project – which seeks to help discover vaccinations that can cure cancer.

The fresh injection of cash, which brings its total amount of funding to $26m, will allow the digital health start-up to accelerate the development of its trial matching platform and reach “millions more patients in need of new and better treatments”.

Malcolm Ferguson, principal at Octopus Ventures, said:

“We are looking to unleash progress by backing entrepreneurs who dare to go big and create change.

“We have had the privilege of working with Pablo Graiver and the Antidote team since 2013, and we’ve seen the business evolve into a leading player in the clinical trial patient recruitment space through their innovative platform technology.

“We are excited to have Merck GHI join us on this journey, and we are happy to continue to support Antidote in this next phase of growth.”

Jordan Mayo, advisor and member of the investment committee at Smedvig Capital, said:

“Since its last round of funding, Antidote has successfully implemented its platform and grown significantly in the UK and the US.

“We are confident the company will continue to expand, providing benefit to trial sponsors, patient organizations, and patients alike.”