Velocity Clinical Research, a Durham, North Carolina-based patient recruitment specialist, used $20 million from a recent fundraising to acquire its first three research sites.
The three sites include the Clinical Research Institute of Southern Oregon in Medford, Oregon; New Horizons Clinical Research of Cincinnati; and MD Clinical of Hallandale Beach, Florida. The company told WRAL TechWire that it plans to focus “heavily” on patient recruiting.
“The patient recruitment model is changing; old recruitment methods are failing,” G. Paul Evans, Ph.D., president and chief executive, said. “Nearly 30% of investigator sites in the U.S. fail to enroll a patient. By actively managing patient recruitment with precision and focusing on the patient, we are positioning Velocity to be the industry leader in setting—and surpassing—sponsor expectations.”
The equity funding round was disclosed in an SEC filing, which pegged the amount at $19,562,507. However, Evans said more than that amount has been raised. The money was used to finance the purchases of the three sites.
“What I can reveal is that we have acquired very successful and profitable sites so the company is not reliant on investors for working capital, but can invest its profits in the further development of the company,” he said.
Velocity, which was founded in 2017, was the idea of Bruce Tomason, the former chief executive of One Call Medical, Alterna and Copernicus. He currently sits as the executive chair of Velocity.