Mercia EIS Funds

Clinical trials software secures £500k investment from Mercia

A Nottingham business which is developing new software to help pharmaceutical companies to manage clinical trials more effectively has secured a £500,000 equity investment from Mercia Fund Managers and angel investors.

PHARMASEAL International was established in 2016 by Daljit Cheema and Sara Rutner, who both have extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry and previously held senior roles at pharma IT specialists ClinPhone Group and PAREXEL.

The two founders have already developed a prototype product. The funding will allow them to roll out their first module – a trial management platform that allows clinical trial operators to manage and monitor their clinical trials in accordance with good clinical practice (GCP) regulatory standards.

The deal also reunites the founders with their former boss Dr Neil Rotherham, the founder and ex-CEO of ClinPhone which was sold to PAREXEL in 2008. He has now joined PHARMASEAL as its Chairman.

PHARMASEAL’s cloud software is designed for the global pharmaceutical SME market, unlike the current software solutions on the market which are complex, costly and aimed at multinationals. The team also plan to release two further modules – a patient safety tool to identify any adverse outcomes during clinical trials, and a license and regulatory management tool allowing pharma companies to submit audit data to regulatory authorities. While Daljit is based at the company’s headquarters in Nottingham, co-founder Sara leads its office in New Jersey which is targeting the US market.

Daljit, PHARMASEAL’s Chief Executive Officer, said:

“This investment is important in allowing PHARMASEAL to complete product development and endorses the innovation in developing a unified control and governance platform for clinical trials”

Dr Ash Patel, Investment Manager with Mercia Fund Managers, said:

“There is a growing number of smaller pharmaceutical companies developing innovative products but they often have difficulty in gaining regulatory approval because of the weaknesses in their audit systems. Pharmaseal’s software will help them manage the process more effectively, from clinical trials to building a clear audit trail and submitting the right data to regulators. It will help SME firms to bring new drugs and devices to market more quickly and at lower cost.”