Is the future of home clinical trials digital and mobile? Koneksa thinks so, which is why it just raised a $45 million Series C to continue building its digital platform for home remote monitoring of patient health. This latest capital injection values Koneksa at $200 million post-money and will be used to scale sales, marketing, and product development efforts globally. The firm also plans to use the financing to build up its R&D team in order to accelerate the development of new products. Home clinical trials are becoming increasingly common as pharmaceutical firms look for ways to conduct cheaper and quicker drug testing while reducing risks as much as possible. Many traditional CROs are pivoting their services towards remote monitoring (including home trials) in response — and that’s good news for smaller companies like Koneksa that are focusing exclusively on this space.
What Is Koneksa?
Koneksa is a remote monitoring and care platform that provides clinical research organizations with the technology they need to run home clinical trials. The platform integrates telehealth devices and wearables, as well as artificial intelligence, to help CROs run remote monitoring programs while adhering to local, national, and international regulations. Koneksa’s platform allows CROs to run home trials more efficiently by providing device management, monitoring, data analytics, and regulatory compliance, as well as end-to-end program management. It also allows for real-time data collection, analysis, and notifications so that researchers can better track the health of their patients. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. It has raised $90 million to date from investors that include Intel Capital, T-Venture, and Life Sciences Discovery Fund.
The Potential of Digital and Mobile in Home Clinical Trials
Home clinical trials, which allow patients to monitor their own health parameters at home using connected devices, are growing in popularity as a way for pharmaceutical companies to test new drugs. CROs are also adopting digital technologies to streamline their operations. Furthermore, patients are now accustomed to using digital devices in their daily lives and may be more willing to use them in a clinical trial. All of these factors spell opportunity for startups in the remote monitoring space, like Koneksa. The company offers a solution aimed at remote monitoring programs that use smart devices, and also includes home clinical trials as a service. Koneksa can also integrate with existing systems and apps, as well as with existing hardware. Koneksa’s platform allows CROs to run remote monitoring programs by providing device management, monitoring, data analytics, and regulatory compliance, as well as end-to-end program management. It also allows for real-time data collection, analysis, and notifications so that researchers can better track the health of their patients.
Why Koneksa?
Koneksa is the only company exclusively focused on remote monitoring, which makes it a unique player in the industry. The firm believes that home trials are only going to grow in popularity, which could help it carve out a nice niche in the CRO ecosystem. The company has already achieved significant traction in this space, including partnerships with some major CROs, strong customer retention rates, and high satisfaction ratings from customers. Moreover, Koneksa has raised $45 million in a Series C financing round, which will be used to accelerate product development, expand globally, and scale sales and marketing efforts. This latest financing round values the company at $200 million post-money, and will help it maintain the pole position in the home remote monitoring space.
The Problems with Home Clinics Today
Home clinical trials have been around for decades, and many pharmaceutical companies have used them to test new drugs. However, most of this testing has been done in a centralized, in-person setting, which has created challenges that drug development experts are only now beginning to address. The first challenge is cost — home trials are much less expensive to run than in-person, centralized trials. Moreover, they are also faster, which can help pharmaceutical companies shorten the length of drug development cycles and bring new drugs to market faster. The second challenge is risk — while home clinical trials are cheaper and faster, they also come with more risk. A centralized system allows the pharmaceutical company to more closely monitor the health status of the participants, but this is not the case in home trials. Again, Koneksa steps in with a solution for these problems. Its platform allows CROs to run home clinical trials with digital devices and programs that can monitor patients remotely. Koneksa also provides a continuous stream of data, monitors the health status of participants, and can trigger alerts that can help solve problems early.
Where There is Clarity, There is Opportunity
The remote monitoring space is a rapidly growing market that has huge potential for digital transformation. As such, it is attracting investors and digital health specialists with its potential. Koneksa is one of those digital health specialists that has the potential to grow significantly. There are already signs that the company is benefiting from the remote monitoring growth. For example, Koneksa was recently ranked second in a poll by the pharmaceutical industry news publication BioPharma Dive of the top remote monitoring vendors. Additionally, the company has achieved strong customer retention rates and high satisfaction ratings from its customers. Thus, Koneksa has a strong foundation upon which to build its future growth.
Conclusion
The remote monitoring market is expected to reach $15.7 billion by 2026, and Koneksa is well-positioned to profit from this growth. With its latest $45 million financing round, the company is well-capitalized to continue growing its business and increasing its share of this lucrative market. Koneksa has strong potential to become a leader in the remote monitoring space thanks to its digital-first approach. Its customers also benefit from an end-to-end solution, which makes the remote monitoring process easier from start to finish.
