Verily’s core software has evolved from an evidence generation tool used by the company for its own research to a more extensive platform that biopharmaceutical companies can apply to clinical trials. Now, the South San Francisco-based company is enhancing its capabilities by acquiring SignalPath, a start-up company whose own software can help clinical trial sites operate more efficiently.
Verily, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, announced on Tuesday a deal to acquire SignalPath in Raleigh, North Carolina. Financial terms have not been disclosed.
Verily’s efforts began in 2017 Project Baseline, a longitudinal study designed to recruit 10,000 volunteers and follow them over time Gain insights about health and disease. The software platform developed by the company to gather these insights is named Baseline. Features of the technology include the ability to pre-screen study participants and provide electronic consent. The software also captures real-world and self-reported data, and supports continuous interaction with research investigators by enabling video access.
SignalPath was co-founded by CEO Brad Hirsch in 2014 and developed a clinical trial management system, which later evolved to address other aspects of clinical research, such as research design and supervision of field management organizations.According to securities documents, this startup has raised nearly 34 million U.S. dollars, the most recent financing US$18 million in Series B financing In 2019.
Part of the latest SignalPath financing is to support the company in providing tools to enable research sponsors to conduct hybrid clinical trials—research that links traditional face-to-face research with virtual trials. These new software products are still under development, but as the industry increasingly adopts decentralized clinical trials, this work is ongoing. Before the Covid-19 pandemic made such virtual research necessary, biopharmaceutical companies had already begun such trials. This trend was a factor in Verily’s decision to purchase SignalPath.
Amy Abernethy, President of Verily Clinical Research, said: “We are focused on the future of site-based, hybrid and decentralized clinical research to accelerate the generation of evidence for various forms of drug and device development, which will make clinical research more accessible.” Good statement. “Through our joint efforts, we hope that by making it easier to participate in clinical research, we can help provide patients with drugs faster, so that more people can participate in this process, and establish new ideas for clinical research and evidence generation. standard.”
Abernethy, former FDA Acting Chief Information Officer, Join Verily In June, the company’s technology was expanded to support a series of clinical trials and real-world evidence research platforms. But before Abernethy held positions in government and industry, she was a clinician and an academic. Her time at Duke University overlaps with Hirsch’s time, and they both work at the Duke Clinical Institute, which is part of the clinical trials conducted by the Duke School of Medicine.
The connection to North Carolina will be maintained. According to the terms of the acquisition agreement, after the transaction is completed, SignalPath employees will join Verily as part of the company’s clinical research business. They will continue to work at the Raleigh site, which will become Verily’s new geographic outpost.
Photo: ivanastar, Getty Images
