Real-world evidence (RWE) technology startup Aetion has extended last year's $63 million Series B with a new $19 million raise. The funds come as strategic investments from Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JJDC, EDBI and Greenspring Associates, all three of which are new supporters of the company.

WHAT IT DOES

Founded in 2013, the company's platform provides insights from RWE to decision-makers across life sciences, health insurance and provider organizations. Use cases include R&D optimization, data review for regulatory approval, and treatment effectiveness evaluations within specific patient populations.

The company's partnerships include "13 of the top 20 global biopharma firms, leading payers and the FDA," according to its website, with the latter most recently tapping the startup to collect real-world data on COVID-19 in May. Since its commercial launch in 2015, the company has brought in a total of $94 million from investors.

WHAT IT'S FOR

Aetion said that it would be working to expand the capabilities of its Aetion Evidence Platform and to further the company's push for worldwide standards in RWE.

"Aetion has had an impactful year, bringing RWE to the forefront of drug research and development with key stakeholders across the industry," Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner and Aetion's board director, said in a statement. "The new investment will help Aetion define and advance real-world evidence standards in the U.S. and across the globe."

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Among Aetion's contemporaries would be OM1, an artificial intelligence platform focused specifically on RWE to measure clinical outcomes. It raised $50 million in Series C funding in December.

Others tackling RWE and healthcare insights generation include: Concerto HealthAI, which raised $150 million in January; Evidation Health, which secured $45 million in July; Komodo Health, which raised $50 million in January; and Litmus Health, which launched a RWE platform for pharma trials in July 2019.

ON THE RECORD

“With its world class, data science-driven RWE solution, Aetion has established itself as a credible partner to leading regulators and global companies around the world,” Chu Swee Yeok, CEO and president at EDBI, said in a statement. “We are enthusiastic about supporting Aetion as it expands into Asia to tap on high-quality data sets and collaborate with regulators to localize its data science solutions for drug development and commercialization needs in this region.”