CRO

Curebase attracts Gilead as backer in $40M financing to expand business

Curebase says $40 million raised through an investment round that attracted Gilead Sciences as a backer will fund platform expansion and help the CRO enter the complex interventional studies market.

San Francisco-based Curebase shared details of the series B funding round this week explaining that, in addition to existing investors GGV Capital, Bold Capital and Xfund, U.S. drugmaker Gilead made a strategic investment.

Curebase and Gilead have worked together "for quite some time now," Curebase CEO Tom Lemberg told Fierce Biotech. The companies have partnered on expanding Curebase's software and virtual site capabilities beyond telemedicine- and ePRO-based studies to more complex, global drug studies, he added. 

“The strategic investment by Gilead signifies further expansion and deepening of this relationship as the two companies work towards their common goal of making their studies more accessible to patients no matter what the trial," Lemberg said. 

As part of this, Curebase plans to expand the range of clinical trial services it offers to drug industry customers. Lemberg said his company focuses on gastrointestinal health, infectious disease, mental health, central nervous system disorders, oncology and women’s health. The goal is "to go beyond that" thanks to the new funding.

"Curebase will tackle complex interventional studies in a modern, patient-centric way," he said. 

The new funding will also further the development of Curebase’s business with an eye on patient centricity. Lemberg said the firm will invest in mobile applications, expansion of its EDC systems, data management and remote monitoring technology.