Despite the troubled economy, the struggling eClinical industry and operating losses totaling $38 million, eClinical company Medidata filed an initial public offering in an effort to raise $86 million. The number of shares and share price for the offering have not yet been determined.

According to a statement filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York, N.Y.-based company had revenues of $84 million for the nine months ending September 30, 2008, up 38% from the same period 2007, but has also suffered operating losses every year since its founding in 1999.

Medidata’s flagship product is its Rave software, an electronic data capture and management system used in clinical trials. In March 2008, the company acquired Fast Track Systems, a provider of clinical trial planning software.