The life sciences industry is warming up to cloud computing, or so Medidata Solutions' ($MDSO) first-quarter financial results would seem to indicate.
Medidata, which offers clinical trial management software among other electronic data capturing solutions, brought in record revenues of $63.3 million in the first quarter of 2013--an increase of $12.9 million, or 26%, compared with $50.4 million in the first quarter of 2012. Revenue from application services made up $50.7 million of that, marking an increase of 32% compared with the same period last year. A growing customer base and higher retention drove first-quarter profits to $5.7 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, up 51%, compared with $3.8 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2012.
"Life science companies are rapidly moving to the cloud and away from the legacy, on-premise solutions offered by our competitors," Medidata's CEO Tarek Sherif said in a company statement.
The company's latest deals certainly reflect that shift toward cloud software. In February, Medidata inked a multiyear deal with Purdue Pharma, known for making the pain drug OxyContin, expanding use of Medidata's software for clinical trials. Just this month, Medidata formed a new partnership with the Japan-based CRO CAC EXICARE to use the company's clinical trials software platform. Revenue from application services was $50.7 million, an increase of 32% compared with the same period last year. Last year the company struck deals with French pharma giant Sanofi ($SNY) and Japanese drugmaker Otsuka Pharmaceutical.
At the end of 2012, Medidata rolled out new features in its Medidata Clinical Cloud, including new budgeting capabilities, enhanced clinical trial management system integrations, and new functionality for clinical supply logistics in complex studies. Those new features, coupled with budding interest in cloud software, might have something to do with Medidata's recent growth. Medidata boasts that its customer base includes more than 20 of the top 25 global pharmaceutical companies as well as biotech and diagnostics companies of all sizes.
- here's the company's QI earnings statement
- and here's the CAC EXICARE announcement