Otsuka Pharmaceutical and Science 37, a Los Angeles, California-headquartered company focused on “site-less” clinical trials, have signed a strategic collaboration to support efforts to further digitize Otsuka’s mobile clinical study protocols with a focus on psychiatry and behavioral health.

The collaboration follows an investment in Science 37 by Otsuka as a minority shareholder as part of the final close of a $35-million Series C investment round earlier in 2017.

The companies plan to conduct the collaboration in successive phases and develop effective ways to select, test, and manage innovative, patient-centric clinical studies to further the development of Otsuka products through an approach using the Science 37 platform.

Science 37’s proprietary, cloud-based mobile research platform, the Network Oriented Research Assistant, is designed to enable end-to-end remote clinical trials. Science 37’s Metasite model is designed to help researchers engage directly with trial participants through every stage of planning, from screening and recruitment to data lock.

Source: Otsuka Pharmaceutical