Medable has set up a base in Dublin, Ireland in a bid to expand its presence in the region’s growing decentralized trial sector.
The Palo Alto, California-based cloud technology supplier unveiled the move last week, explaining it will act as a sales and customer service site.
Burak Over, Medable’s head of corporate development and investor relations, told us setting up in Ireland was part of an effort to optimize engagement between clinicians and patients with the use of decentralized technologies.
“We are currently working in over 60 countries around the world and the establishment of our new EMEA HQ emphasizes our commitment to the region, to solve for complex study challenges that are often exacerbated when working across different healthcare systems between countries.
“By centralizing the technology and decentralizing clinical research from bricks and mortar locations to greater remote options, we make it easier for more patients to access clinical research. We are thrilled to further embed our operating framework and support our EMEA clinicians, patients, and biopharmaceutical clients with our growing talent base in EMEA and UK.”
Over also cited Ireland’s low tax rate – the county has a corporate tax rate of just 12.5% – as attractive.
He told us “while not the final factor, the tax advantages provided by Ireland was certainly one of important criteria considered. Ireland has some of the most favorable corporate tax environments in Europe, along with Canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.
“Ireland is a spectacular place to set up an entity with a long history of "Who is Who" companies established in that country. In addition to taxes, Ireland is part of the European Union (EU) and the City of Dublin has excellent benefits when it comes to proximity to Medable’s European sales and growth goals, local financial incentives, ease of conducting business, access to talent pool, cost of living, and access to a major transportation hubs.”
Medable already operates in the European Union at sites in Germany, Denmark and various locations in Central and Eastern Europe. It also has an operation in the UK. In total it employs 60 people in the region.
The firm intends to hire up to 50 positions in Dublin over the next three years, as part of a Europe-wide growth effort.
Expansion plan
News of the expansion comes weeks after Medable launched its software-as-a-service (SaaS) decentralized trial platform.
The technology – which has been tested in more than 150 decentralized and hybrid trials to date – facilitates the sharing of best practices.
The idea is to replace siloed systems with integrated digital tools, data, and interfaces to accelerate trial execution.
The firm claims the approach can accelerate patient enrolment timelines and cut the number of sites needed.
Decentralized demand
Growing demand for decentralized trials was illustrated in recent survey of pharma and biotech professionals by VIVLNK.
The study revealed that 44% of those asked said they had adopted remote patient monitoring or plan to do so in the next year.
A majority – 65% – of survey respondents who said they are using remote patient monitoring (RPM) citing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic as their primary driver for using the technology.
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