SubjectWell Secures $10 Million Series A Funding to Launch the First Clinical Trial Patient Recruitment Marketplace

On June 18, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that SubjectWell, a risk-free clinical trial patient recruitment platform, announced the completion of a $10 million Series A financing round. The round was led by Windham Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Healthy Ventures and Geekdom Fund. The funds will be used to expand SubjectWell’s international operations, extending its service coverage to Europe, South America, and the United Kingdom, among other regions outside North America.

It is reported that SubjectWell was founded in 2012 and subsequently completed two seed funding rounds in July 2017 and February 2018, respectively. The second seed round was led by Healthy Ventures, raising $1.8 million.

SubjectWell matches patients with appropriate clinical trials, assisting clinical researchers in patient recruitment. The platform not only expands channels for the general public to access information about clinical research but also provides patients with more accessible innovative treatment options. SubjectWell’s independent recruitment marketplace increases awareness of and participation in clinical research by broadening the audience for clinical trials, ensuring that various trials can be matched with suitable participants, thereby improving clinical trial efficiency.

Ivor Clarke, CEO of SubjectWell, stated, “The greatest barrier to patient participation in clinical trials is a lack of awareness—patients do not have access to information about clinical trials and do not know how to participate. By raising awareness of clinical trials and creating the first true marketplace for clinical trials, we provide patients with diverse options and access to innovative treatments. Investor support will enable more willing patients to join the platform, thereby advancing our clients’ clinical research.”

Tony Averbeck, Vice President of Business Development at SubjectWell, stated, “SubjectWell’s growth is not limited to expanding the patient pool. Clients post all their clinical trials on the SubjectWell platform, where eligible patients are randomly matched and compensated for participation through our specially designed performance-based pricing model.”

Adam Fine, Partner and CEO of Windham, stated, “Despite recent advances in the medical field, clinical trials remain a major pain point. The vast majority of trials are delayed due to difficulties in recruiting participants, and many ultimately fail due to inappropriate patient selection. Through in-depth analysis of the clinical trial sector, we have found SubjectWell’s clinical trial recruitment model to be highly effective, having successfully completed patient recruitment for hundreds of studies. We are delighted to collaborate with this outstanding team.”

Windham, founded in 2006 and led by experienced healthcare industry executives, operators, and investors, is a New York-based venture capital firm. The company focuses on investments in the healthcare sector, with particular emphasis on medical devices, diagnostic medical technologies, and healthcare IT solutions rooted in biology and genomics. Windham primarily participates in seed, early-stage, and late-stage corporate investments.

Healthy Ventures, founded in 2015 and headquartered in California, USA, is a venture capital firm. The company primarily focuses on infrastructure software companies in the healthcare sector, participating in seed and early-stage investments.

Geekdom Fund, established in 2014, is a venture capital fund that primarily invests in early-stage tech startups in the B2C, e-commerce, and SaaS sectors. The firm typically participates in pre-seed and seed-stage investments, with investment amounts ranging from $50,000 to $500,000. To date, Geekdom Fund has secured investments from 43 top-tier venture capital and angel investing firms.

(Compiled by Tang Lulu)