The past two years have been challenging for startups. But at Circuit Clinical, the team has used the time to focus on what’s really important, restructure as needed and reduce costs while growing its business.
“The key question we had to ask ourselves is 'what are we at our core really great at?' ” CEO Irfan Khan said. “And let’s focus on that.”
The answer: Making participating in clinical trials more accessible and inclusive for patients and physicians through community-based research solutions
For the seven-year-old local company, that meant deprioritizing providing digital solutions related to clinical trials, a costly endeavor for startups.
It also meant using a professionally managed mindset – being performance-driven and doing fewer things but doing them well and at a larger scale – instead of the typical entrepreneurial framework – dreaming big, willing to take big cuts and grow fast.
The business, which employs about 100, had to make hard decisions about its number of staff and how much it spends on employment. But with attrition and restructuring its leadership team, the company is now leaner but still growing.
That included over the last few years promoting some existing employees to leadership roles, including Margaret Scott, senior vice president of clinical operations. She’s part of an all-female executive management team of three.
“The biggest goals this year are around really responsible and strategic growth,” she said.
The refocusing and adjustments appear to have paid off. Circuit Clinical, based at Seneca One Tower, cut its spending in half and doubled revenue over the past two years.
The business over the last handful of months has also announced two partnerships. One involves Circuit Clinical’s research team being embedded in SSM Health care sites. SSM Health, a non-profit health system that spans four states, is the largest health care system that the startup has worked with so far, according to Scott.
Another partnership is with Graves Gilbert, which houses more than 200 providers, to reduce burdens for patients who opt-in for research participation.
Including the two newer partnerships, Circuit Clinical can help a total of 8.5 million people access clinical trials.
“I think we’re so lucky to be building this company in Western New York,” Khan said. “There’s a lot of Buffalo in Circuit Clinical’s DNA.”
