Clinical trial tech company Unlearn scored $50 million in a Series B financing round led by Insight Partners.
Other participants in the round include Radical Ventures, 8VC, DCVC, DCVC Bio and Mubadala Capital Ventures. According to Crunchbase, Unlearn’s total raise now totals nearly $70 million.
Unlearn uses a machine learning model to create digital twins of randomized controlled trial participants. The startup pitches this tech as a way to run smaller clinical trials more quickly, since they don’t need to find as many participants for the control group.
“By reducing the size of the control arm, more patients in a TwinRCT have access to a potentially beneficial experimental treatment instead of a placebo. Trials can be run faster and with the same resources so that patients can receive access to more effective treatments sooner,” Dylan Morris, managing director at Insight Partners, said in a statement. As part of the deal, Morris will join Unlearn’s board of directors.
“TwinRCTs not only increase trial efficiency but also provide rigorous evidence suitable for supporting regulatory decisions. We are excited to support the Unlearn team as they scale their TwinRCT solution to make clinical trials better for patients and for sponsors.”
Remote patient monitoring company Blue Spark Technologies raised $40 million in an intellectual property-based debt financing led by GT Investment Partners (Ghost Tree Partners) with participation from Aon plc.
Blue Spark offers TempTraq, an FDA-cleared disposable sensor that allows providers to monitor body temperature for up to 72 hours. The funds will go toward scaling the startup’s sales and marketing.
“Hospitals are seeking to improve patient care, reduce readmissions, optimize reimbursements and gain competitive advantage. TempTraq has been clinically proven to accurately detect fevers much earlier than the current standard of care,” John Gannon, Blue Spark’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
“Having Ghost Tree’s support and expertise will be invaluable as we continue to expand our remote patient monitoring solutions to the market.”
Digital therapeutic company Click Therapeutics secured a $15 million loan from Silicon Valley Bank.
Click said the capital will go toward retiring its existing loan with K2 HealthVentures and to advancing the company’s digital therapeutic product pipeline. The startup most recently raised $52 million in Series B funding last year.
“We are pleased to partner with Silicon Valley Bank, a leading lender to companies in the life sciences space. This financing allows us to replace our existing loan facility with improved economic terms, while providing additional capital to fund our pipeline of clinically-validated digital therapeutics,” Randall Stanicky, Click’s CFO, said in a statement.
“On behalf of Click, I would like to thank K2HV for their support during a critical period of growth for our company. We look forward to continuing our partnership with K2HV, as the firm remains an equity investor in Click.”
