Dramatic shifts in the medical industry sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic have a local health tech firm ready to boost its global presence.
ObvioHealth USA Inc. completed one of the region's biggest venture capital deals of the year when it hauled in $31 million in a fundraising round announced July 1.
This allows the virtual clinical research company, which has its U.S. headquarters in Orlando, to expand the use of its platform rapidly in what the company views as a desirable Asia-Pacific market, co-founder and CEO Ivan Jarry told Orlando Business Journal.
Global growth
ObvioHealth’s platform enables companies to recruit for and carry out virtual clinical trials in the health care industry. The company's smartphone app lets trial participants take part from their own home, and ObvioHealth claims virtual clinical trials on its platform result in recruitment that is four times faster than normal, 60% fewer participant dropouts and 48% higher adherence to the trial medication.
The $31 million raised by ObvioHealth is a significant part of its global growth plans.
The round was led by Italian healthcare IT and software company Dedalus Group and Novotech Health Holdings, Asia's largest biotech contract research organization.
The partnership with Novotech will help ObvioHealth gain a stronger foothold in the Asia-Pacific market, a point of emphasis for the company. ObvioHealth will become the preferred virtual clinical trial provider for Novotech.
The platform helps address the demand among clients for “faster and more cost-efficient solutions” in virtual trials, Novotech CEO John Moller said in a prepared statement after Novotech's investment in ObvioHealth.
Asia presents a big opportunity for ObvioHealth since most of its competitors are focused on the U.S. market, Jarry said. Plus, low vaccination rates in many countries in that market mean virtual trial options may be highly desirable. The capital infusion will fund between between 35-50 hires by the end of the year, primarily in Asia.
ObvioHealth was growing before the pandemic, but the need to reduce physical contact in doctor visits, clinical trials and more helped the firm. Many will stick with the virtual clinical trials ObvioHealth enables once they "get a taste," Jarry said.
A strong talent pool
While the company's seven offices span Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America, Jarry sees many advantages for ObvioHealth by anchoring its U.S. presence in Orlando.
One of Central Florida's biggest appeals is age range in available talent, Jarry said. For instance, the University of Central Florida produces numerous younger workers the company can hire, but Florida also draws many health care workers who are late in their careers and leave big corporations to become independent consultants, Jarry said. This lets ObivoHealth easily build out a team of energetic upstarts and seasoned veterans.
ObvioHealth is just one example of a health care tech company with a global workforce headquartered in Orlando. Take Health management software firm The Garage: It employs more than 200 people around the world, with only 18 of them at the company's Orlando office. However, the company remains headquartered in Orlando due to the city's sizable health care industry that provides a solid pool of talent, founder and CEO Pranam Ben said.
Meanwhile, venture capital funding of health care companies hit a record high in the first quarter. Investors pumped $31.6 billion into companies in the health care industry that quarter, including an all-time high of $9 billion into digital health care firms, New York-based business analysis firm CB Insights reported.
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