CureLauncher, the self-described Wikipedia of clinical trials, is starting to enjoy its first growth streak one year after launching.
The Bloomfield Hills-based startup has grown to 18 employees and three summer interns. Those jobs include everything from the executive team to the relationship managers that help sick people find clinical trials for new treatments.
CureLauncher has created a software platform that serves as a one-stop shop for people looking to participate in clinical trials. There are tens of thousands of clinical trials held in the U.S. each year and they are often delayed by several months, on average, because of enrollment issues. CureLauncher’s database looks to make what could be life-saving connections between sick people and cutting-edge treatments. All the prospective patients need to do is call CureLauncher’s hotline to find a prospective clinical trial to take part in.
"We think of ourselves as Match.com for clinical trials," says David Fuehrer, president of
CureLauncher. "Our mission is to help people with access to and understanding of their new treatment options."
CureLauncher's service went national last summer. It now takes inquiries from an average of 350 stroke survivors per month looking for new experimental treatments to be a part of.
"We have had a couple of thousand people contact us," Fuehrer says.
CureLauncher has raised $600,000 in seed capital over the last year, including $25,000 in cash for winning the Life Science award at the
Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition last month. Fuehrer plans to use that money to establish its brand nationally in 2014. He expects that expansion will mean CureLauncher has to hire more relationship managers next year.
Source: David Fuehrer, president of CureLauncher
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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