Munich-based health tech company Climedo has received five million euros in a seed financing round. The lead investor is the pan-European venture capital firm Nauta Capital. Climedo intends to use the capital to further develop its digital platform for electronic data collection in the context of decentralized clinical trials. The software is thus to become even more patient-oriented.
Climedo offers a digital platform for decentralized clinical trials and has set itself the goal of achieving the best possible medical treatment by means of intelligent software solutions. To this end, the company has developed a cloud-based platform for the clinical validation of medical and pharmaceutical products with leading European hospitals, such as the Charité in Berlin.
Real-time data for faster and more cost-effective approvals
This platform is intended to enable the digital networking of all parties involved - medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, CROs, clinics, and patients - and to accelerate market introduction through adjusted costs. By collecting and processing real-time data via a privacy-compliant telemedicine solution, Climdeo also aims to enable efficient patient follow-up, for example in Phase IV studies or Post-Market Clinical Follow-ups (PMCF). For this purpose, electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO) are used. Study participants maintain an electronic diary (eDiary) in which all study-relevant patient data (adherence, symptoms, etc.) are entered.
"Clinical trials are extremely time-consuming and costly for companies," said Guillem Sagué, partner at Nauta Capital. "This has to change. Massive costs can be saved by digitizing and decentralizing trials. This also gives small companies access to clinical trials. At the same time, the approval of drugs for rare diseases is often not worthwhile for cost reasons - Climedo would like to change this as well. Digitization has the potential to make processes much more efficient, thereby contributing to a democratization of drug development." For VC Nauta Capital, this is the fourth investment in the digital health sector.
Co-founder and CEO Sascha Ritz explains, "We have set ourselves the ambitious goal of becoming the market leader in Europe for patient-centric, electronic data collection by 2024. Nauta Capital is an investor that has recognized how much potential there is in our decentralized platform and the integration of telemedicine into the world of clinical trials. We are pleased that Nauta Capital is now on our side for the long term to expand our partner network and realize our mission."
eDiary solution for tracking COVID-19 cases
Climedo's software was able to reach one in a hundred people in Germany last year. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Climedo has made its eDiary solution for tracking (suspected) index cases available to almost half of all German health authorities. This allows authorities to monitor without contact, without the need for daily, telephone queries of symptoms of those affected. Instead, people who are tested positive and their contacts fill out a digital questionnaire on their personal smartphone or computer, and health departments see all the data in a real-time dashboard. Adverse events can thus be responded to immediately, resulting in time savings of up to 80 percent. Automatic reminder functions help ensure that participants complete the questionnaires on time.