Cure Forward, a Cambridge, Massachusetts digital health startup to connect and enroll cancer patients to relevant clinical trials, has suspended its services, according to its website. The company zeroed in on the disconnect between patients and awareness of clinical trials relevant to them as one way to solve the most costly and prolonged part of drug development — clinical trial recruitment.
The message on its website read:
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Effective immediately, Cure Forward must suspend our work assisting patients in their search for cancer clinical trials. As a team, we are very disappointed not to have met our goals of making clinical trials accessible for those who need them most. We are grateful to the patients, physicians, investigators, advocates, and non-profits who helped us challenge the barriers that patients face in finding trials. We will continue to work with currently registered patients through June 9, 2017.
It refers visitors to Cancer Support Community as a source of in-depth information about clinical trials, and links to resources for finding a trial.
In response to questions, Cure Forward CEO Frank Ingari said in an email the company was not able to generate enough revenue to attract more investors.
“The company enjoyed patient and substantial support from our investor. It took us longer than planned to generate revenues sufficient to attract new, additional investors at a stage of development where expanding the investor group was the natural and right thing to do.
“We learned an awful lot in the process. If someone does not know someone who knows someone at a premier academic hospital, finding a clinical trial is a maddening labyrinth. I think we were close to cracking the code, but it’s a hard thing to scale and a difficult thing for pharma to fund. Our greatest regret is not being able to help these patients.”
In 2015, Cure Forward raised $15 million in a Series A with Apple Tree Partners as the only investor. The business is not currently listed among its portfolio companies.
In an article for MedCity News referencing Cure Forward and other digital health companies, Asset Management Partners venture capital investor Skip Fleshman called attention to what he saw as the worrying trend of startups raising large Series A rounds.
The news from Cure Forward, although disappointing given the perceived need in the realm of clinical trial recruitment, reflects the grim reminder that relatively few startups succeed and healthcare’s challenges tend to be steeper than other sectors.
