Vir Trial Acquires SnapMD to Enhance Decentralized Clinical Trial Capabilities Through Virtual Visits

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned via Business Wire that on December 12, 2019, telehealth company VirTrial announced the acquisition of SnapMD. Following this acquisition, VirTrial will enhance its telehealth service capabilities by leveraging SnapMD’s telehealth platform and technical expertise. Additionally, VirTrial can integrate other functionalities from SnapMD into its Virtual Care Management (VCM) platform, thereby further solidifying the company’s leading position in global decentralized clinical trial (DCT) solutions.

VirTrial, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Arizona, USA, is a telemedicine company backed by Kinderhook Industries. The company is dedicated to providing a stable, long-term virtual care management platform to transform the clinical trial industry. By integrating video, text, and email capabilities, the platform enables pharmaceutical companies and CROs to conduct patient-centric, decentralized clinical trials through virtual visits, thereby accelerating drug time-to-market.

The company’s vision is to create virtual hybrid models for 25–50% of visits, which are well-suited for Phase III/IV trials. With this model, patient adherence can be assessed at any location. The VirTrial app supports all devices (Android, Apple, tablets, and computers) and is accessible via all web browsers. It is hosted in a secure cloud-based environment and complies with HIPAA and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) requirements.

SnapMD, founded in 2013 and headquartered in California, USA, is a leading provider of telehealth tools and services. The company offers a premier enterprise-grade virtual care management telehealth platform to enhance patient engagement and leverages its robust backend systems to manage the digital healthcare continuum.

SnapMD provides healthcare providers with the software and services needed to enhance patients’ access to convenient and effective care. SnapMD’s scalable, white-label VCM platform is designed to support multiple service lines and can be deployed as a single telehealth platform across an enterprise.

This acquisition aligns with VirTrial’s corporate objective of enabling hybrid decentralized clinical trials to be seamlessly implemented among sponsors, trial sites, and patients. Leveraging SnapMD’s technology, VirTrial will further streamline the user experience. SnapMD will operate as a subsidiary of VirTrial and will continue to provide its leading telehealth solutions in the healthcare sector.

“Acquiring SnapMD better enables us to realize our vision of making decentralized clinical trial solutions accessible to more participants. VirTrial has set the standard in the decentralized clinical trial platform space,” said Mark Hanley, CEO of VirTrial.

SnapMD CEO David Skibinski stated, “We are thrilled to join the VirTrial team and drive the development of telemedicine platforms within the clinical research industry. This transaction further underscores SnapMD’s commitment to improving healthcare delivery by providing best-in-class telemedicine solutions and a broad range of services, regardless of market conditions.”

Kinderhook Industries, a private investment firm based in New York, USA, was founded in 2003 and manages over $3 billion in committed capital. Since its inception, the firm has completed more than 225 investments and follow-on acquisitions. It is dedicated to investing in middle-market companies with neutral market positions in the sectors of healthcare services, environmental and business services, as well as automotive and light manufacturing.

(Compiled by Jiang Ying)