A Glasgow AI pharma startup has secured £1.5 million to drive growth in the United States.
Talking Medicines’s PatientMetRx platform is driven by artificial intelligence models to provide science-based insights which cut through the noise from social platforms.
By structuring and translating the patient’s voice into a Patient Confidence Score (PCS), Talking Medicines aims to help drive more effective marketing by pharma companies.
Formed in 2013 by CEO Jo Halliday alongside co-founders Dr Elizabeth Fairley and Dr Scott Crae, the company has doubled its headcount over the past year to 35.
It has established a new office in New Jersey with a view to recruiting a US-based sales team.
Boston-based life science investor Mark Bamforth of Thairm Bio has joined the current funders in a round also featuring Tern Plc, an investment company specialising in the Internet of Things, impact investor SIS Ventures and Scottish Enterprise, which has also provided grant funding through its SMART:SCOTLAND programme.
This latest investment brings the total raised by Talking Medicines to £4m.
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“2022 promises to be a big year for Talking Medicines with this new investment. Having scaled up our operations and formally launched our PatientMetrx technology platform, we’ve now got our sights set on expanding in the US pharma market, providing brand teams and agencies with a new way of understanding what patients are really saying and feeling about their medicines,” said Halliday.
“The pharmaceutical industry will go through seismic change this year and our actionable patient insights will be transformational for the industry. Our new office in New Jersey provides the ideal base for us to build relationships with customers, acquire new leads and drive revenue growth.”
Kerry Sharp, director of growth investments at Scottish Enterprise, added: “We’ve supported Talking Medicines for several years having recognised the ethical and economic value of its patient-first approach to health and welfare.
“Providing funding and dedicated advice through programmes such as Unlocking Ambition and Scaling Services has helped the company grow to a point where it’s now expanding overseas, and we’re excited to support these international ambitions through this latest funding round.”