NewTrails: Pioneering Remote Monitoring to Accelerate Digital Transformation in Clinical Trials

According to Informa statistics, global pharmaceutical R&D investment reached $200.1 billion in 2021, representing a 27.7% increase compared to 2016. Pharmaceutical R&D spending remained resilient amid the pandemic, with particularly significant growth observed in domestic new drug R&D investment.

In 2020, domestic R&D investment in new drugs increased by $5.4 billion compared with 2019, accounting for 61.4% of the global increase. In 2021, domestic R&D investment in new drugs increased by $6.5 billion compared with 2020, accounting for 75.6% of the global increase.

The momentum in new drug development continues to grow, with the Chinese market accelerating its expansion. As a critical component of the drug development process, clinical trials account for approximately 60% of the total development timeline. In recent years, the rapid adoption of AI technologies in the drug discovery phase has effectively shortened preclinical development time, thereby further increasing the proportion of time dedicated to the clinical trial phase.

Accelerating overall new drug development and enhancing clinical trial efficiency have become an inevitable trend.

The sudden onset of the pandemic left China’s clinical trial industry, which still had a relatively low level of digitalization, unable to respond quickly.

“At first, our goal was to help clinical trials resume operations quickly during the pandemic. As our work progressed, we realized that the pandemic was not the only factor affecting the industry. In a sector characterized by numerous collaborators, substantial information exchange needs, and reliance on outdated paper-based processes, achieving true digital transformation would significantly enhance efficiency across the entire industry.”Mr. Jin Jiefei, Founder and CEO of New TrialsMentioned in the interview.

New Trials, established in July 2020, is currently a leading provider of digital and intelligent infrastructure for clinical research in China.As of now, established with Hangzhou New Trials Medical Technology Co., Ltd.Partnered with over 50 large hospitals，Over 30 Sponsors/CROs, and has completed two rounds of financing. The Pre-A round was led byTigermedInvestment; Pre-A+ round led bySequoia ChinaLead Investor in Seed Round, HangzhouHeda Biopharmaceutical Industry FundCo-investment.

New Trials entered the digital clinical trial arena through remote monitoring, continuously refining its product by incorporating customer feedback. CurrentlySuccessfully fulfilled over 2,000 product requirements from partners.。

New Trials' Digital Intelligence Product Matrix for Clinical Research

New Trials’ product matrix covers hospitals, CROs, SMOs, regulatory authorities, subjects, logistics companies, and other stakeholders, leveraging clinical monitoring as the foundation for enhancing digitalization in the industry and connecting all collaborative parties.

Taking Clinical Research Associates (CRAs) as an example, since clinical medical records cannot be arbitrarily removed from hospitals, CRAs are required to visit various hospitals in person to review the records. The extensive travel and high associated costs constitute a significant pain point for every CRA, and these challenges, exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic, have severely hindered their work progress.

By enabling online management of subject oversight, New Trials allows clinical research associates (CRAs) to remotely review subjects’ medical records, eliminating travel costs and increasing the number of clinical trial projects each CRA can manage, thereby enhancing CRA work efficiency in terms of both speed and capacity.

New Trials is highly favored by partner hospitals for its “conservative” technical solutions. With “Data Stays Within the Hospital” as its guiding principle for structuring data management permissions. In providing after-sales services such as system operation and maintenance, relevant personnel from Hangzhou New Trials Medical Technology Co., Ltd. are also required to comply with regulations by enabling uninterrupted, full-process screen recording.

This design not only ensures the professionalism of products and services, but also enhances partner hospitals’ trust in New Trials’ offerings and brand, thereby improving customer retention rates.

Strengthening the collaborative ties with the hospital enhances its risk resilience in clinical trials, thereby earning pharmaceutical companies’ trust in its clinical trial capabilities and facilitating new partnerships.

For nearly 20 years before founding New Trials,Mr. Jin Jiefei has 11 years of work experience at Pfizer., during which he/she served asHead of Digital Marketing, Innovative Medicines Division, Pfizer China, and has also participated in the founding of innovative healthcare enterprises.

Drawing on extensive experience from leading pharmaceutical companies and startups, Jin Jiefei leads a founding team with rich professional backgrounds at enterprises such as GSK, Novartis, and Taimei Medical Technology.In its second month of establishment, it secured a partnership with the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine; in the same year, it launched its remote monitoring product; and the following year, it reached a collaboration agreement with Hengrui Medicine.。

New Trials has emerged as a leader in the field of remote monitoring.

Currently, in collaboration with Hangzhou New Trials Medical Technology Co., Ltd.Collaborating with over 50 hospitals, covering nearly all of China30 cities，90% are Grade A tertiary hospitals, including Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, and Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Huazhong University of Science and Technology.The number of Phase I–IV projects corresponding to contracted hospitals is nearly 6,000.，Accounting for approximately 10% of China's clinical trial market share。

“One principle we firmly uphold in our corporate culture is: Delivering on Promises.”Jin JiefeiIt stated that the reason partner hospitals were willing to provide valuable advice at the inception of Hangzhou New Trials Medical Technology Co., Ltd., and that the company has continuously earned trust and recognition from its partners during its development, is because it has effectively responded to users’ genuine needs.

Fulfilling commitments to customers is not only the key to earning their trust, but also a precise pathway for refining products and honing technical expertise.Through this win-win model, Hangzhou New Trials Medical Technology Co., Ltd. has created an opportunity to develop a remote monitoring product that is user-friendly and compliant with standards.

“Decentralized Clinical Trials (DCT)” and “Real-World Studies (RWS)” are internationally recognized as the future direction of clinical research.

New Trials’ product development strategy will continue to build on its existing remote monitoring capabilities, expanding partnerships, incorporating customer feedback, and refining current functionalities. As its ecosystem of partners grows, New Trials will also develop new products to lay the foundation for data interoperability in clinical trials, thereby creating conditions to accelerate clinical trial efficiency through compliant applications.

Mastering a single point to expand from the specific to the general, the “spirit of craftsmanship” deserves recognition at any stage of an industry’s development.

We look forward to New Trials upholding its mission and original aspiration to “empower China’s clinical trials to lead the world in efficiency and quality,” building a leading digital-intelligent infrastructure for clinical research, and helping China achieve comprehensive digitalization and intelligence in clinical trials at an early date!