Virtrial makes debut with a new platform for hybrid clinical trials

10-Sep-2018 - Last updated on 10-Sep-2018 at 19:06 GMT

(Image: Getty/utah778)

Virtrial’s vision is to replace up to half of the standard clinical trial visits with virtual ones, using a hybrid approach incorporating telemedicine.

With funds from the private investment firm Kinderhook Industries, Virtrial has acquired a virtual care platform to incorporate telehealth in clinical trials. The patient management program incorporates video, text, and email, and can be used on any device.

Virtrial is not disclosing the investment amount, though it comes from the private investment firm Kinderhook Industries, which manages more than $2.0bn of committed capital.

"The technology platform we are using is already built and has been tested and proven over the past few years. Most of our investment was to acquire that technology," Mark Hanley, CEO and president of Virtrial told us.

Hanley, who is the former CEO of Clinical Research Advantage (CRA) and Radiant Research founded Virtrial in 2018. The company’s vision is to replace 25-50% of standard clinical trial visits with virtual visits.

Kim Kundert also is joining the company as VP of clinical operations, having worked with Hanley at both CRA and Radiant.

Hanley in the press release said, "This is a perfect platform for post-approval trials, as patients today keep their cell phone numbers for years. Contacting them virtually in 2-5 years will be possible.”

"By utilizing a hybrid model approach to trials, we can enhance current trials by replacing a quarter to half of the visits with virtual video visits,” he added. “We don't plan to completely replace in-clinic visits, just maximize available resources to get results in an accurate, compliant, and timely manner."