4G Clinical, a clinical trials software company focused on simplifying and accelerating the drug development process, has raised $5 million in Series A1 financing led by Boston-based Schooner Capital. Combined with $2.5 million that was announced in January, this latest round of financing brings 4G's Series A funding total to $7.5 million. The additional funding will be used to support company operations, further product development and support early marketing of Prancer, the company's fourth generation Randomization and Trial Supply Management (RTSM) offering. 

"Built by industry veterans, Prancer is the first RTSM system to leverage both a modern stack and the intelligence of natural language processing," said Ted Henderson, a managing director at Schooner Capital. "The speed and flexibility of this platform, including more intuitive interfaces and robust forecasting capability, is extremely valuable in the arena of drug development."

4G Clinical co-founder and CTO Ed Tourtellotte created the first parameter-based RTSM system in the world, as well as the industry-leading clinical supply forecasting tool, tcVisualize. COO Christine Hurley is a globally recognized expert in RTSM operations with nearly 20 years in the biopharmaceutical industry. Additionally, Head of Engineering Cédric Druck developed the CT-FAST simulation and optimization platform for clinical supplies management. Tourtellotte and CEO David Kelleher have both previously founded and run successful businesses.

"We have had a deep level of engagement with industry stakeholders as we have developed Prancer," said Ed Tourtellotte. "This engagement process has helped us stay abreast of emerging needs, ensure all bases are covered, and innovate against customer pain points."

"We are thrilled to have Schooner as a partner," added CEO David Kelleher. "Their early funding helped us build a world class team of innovators, starting from a handful of people in January to a current staff of 24, with technical and industry experts in the U.S. andEurope. These assets are the foundation of an integrated, global level of client service."

Randomization and Trial Supply Management (RTSM) software systems (sometimes referred to as IRT, IVR or IWR) play a critical role in most modern clinical trials. Specifically, these systems and services facilitate the complex work of assigning patients to treatment groups, managing clinical supply, and dispensing medicines used in trials.

Total global biopharmaceutical R&D spending has been estimated at around $127 billion and growing, with late-stage Clinical R&D accounting for about 20% of that total cost. The overall clinical trials marketplace is also generally accepted to be stable or growing. ClinicalTrials.gov, which includes an estimated 75% of clinical trials globally, shows a steadily increasing number of new clinical trials registered year-over-year for the last two decades. In the past 10 years, there has been an average of nearly 17,000 new registered trials annually, with numbers in the last 5 years being consistently higher—between 20,000 and 24,000. Already in 2016, there are more than 20,000 new clinical trials registered. 

In February of 2016, market research and consulting firm, M&M shared their prediction that the eClinical Solutions market—including randomization and trial supply management (RTSM), as well as clinical data management systems (CDMS)/electronic data capture (EDC), clinical trial management systems (CTMS), electronic clinical outcome assessment (eCOA)—will reach $5.98 Billion by 2020, at CAGR of 12.1% from 2015 to 2020. The company cited "growing adoption of software solutions during clinical trials" as one factor contributing to this growth, along with increasing research and development expenditure by pharmaceutical companies, growing government grants to support clinical trials, and rising customer base. This report cited North America as the largest market sector, but noted that Asia/Pacific is projected to be the fastest growing region.

4G Clinical is a full service RTSM company focused on simplifying and accelerating the drug development process. The company was founded in October, 2015, to develop a service offering centered around a 4th generation Randomization and Trial Supply Management (RTSM) system, Prancer. Headquartered in the heart of the Boston biotech corridor, in Wellesley, MA, 4G Clinical has facilities and staff located in the U.S. and Europe, and is poised to offer global expertise and advisory services to pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations.

Founded in 1971, Schooner Capital is a Boston-based private investment firm engaged in venture capital, growth equity and alternative asset investments. Schooner has no outside limited partners.