Cliorbit is preparing to expand into software-as-a-service products for contract research organizations and clinical research companies, as the firm seeks to challenge the high cost and complexity of existing clinical technology platforms.
Senior Partner Kajal Gupta said the company plans to introduce a suite of SaaS-based systems aimed particularly at early-stage companies and small- to mid-sized CROs. Cliorbit is evaluating pricing that could be substantially below that of established global platforms, with discounts of as much as 90% in certain product categories, according to the company.
The move is based on a broader thesis that clinical-research software remains expensive to deploy and maintain, particularly for smaller organizations operating under strict regulatory, audit-trail and data-management requirements.
Cliorbit believes advances in artificial intelligence and a first-principles approach to product development could allow it to build more affordable systems while automating a larger portion of CRO workflows.
The company is exploring an integrated platform that could bring multiple operational functions into a single environment, with the aim of reducing administrative work, lowering operating costs and improving operating leverage for CROs.
Rather than focusing solely on generic AI tools, Cliorbit plans to emphasize private and customized systems designed around clinical-research workflows. The company sees data security as a critical part of the opportunity, particularly as CROs may be reluctant to share sensitive study and operational data with third-party AI platforms.
“Data is at the core of a CRO’s business,” the company’s management said, adding that private, secure and purpose-built systems could give smaller research organizations access to technology that has historically been more affordable for larger companies.
The clinical technology market is already crowded, but Cliorbit believes the opportunity remains significant as smaller CROs seek to modernize operations without taking on the cost structures associated with larger enterprise platforms.
Senior Partner said the company is still evaluating its go-to-market strategy and testing its assumptions before committing to a broader rollout.
“We have to be careful about confirmation bias,” Gupta said. “The objective is not simply to build what we believe CROs want, but to understand where the real operational problems are, solve them economically and build a model that can scale.”
Cliorbit expects its initial focus to be on helping early-stage and smaller CROs automate workflows, manage compliance requirements and consolidate fragmented processes, while using the software initiative to expand its own presence in the clinical-research industry.
