Biospring is pleased to announce our recent investment in CenExel, a clinical trial site network across the U.S. offering inpatient clinical trials. CenExel has expertise in complex central nervous system (CNS) related therapeutic areas, including psychiatry, neurology, neuro-degeneration, sleep, and analgesia (pain).
Biospring is a thematic-focused investor, and CenExel is an investment in our clinical trial outsourced services theme. Biopharma research & development (R&D) spend in 2024 was over $288B, growing at a 6%+ CAGR over the last 20 years across multiple market cycles. Approximately 50% of the R&D spend was outsourced, and 65% (~$85B) of the outsourced spend was dedicated to clinical trials.
The number of new drug candidates in pharma's development pipeline also continues to grow (7% CAGR from 2014-2024) with almost 23,000 drug candidates in 2024. This growth in pharma's pipeline, combined with the increase in the cost of developing new medicines, has driven increasing clinical trial volume and spend. However, despite this growth, pharma companies face numerous pain points in the clinical trial process, including challenges identifying and retaining patients. More information on CenExel here.
Biospring portfolio company, PathAI, a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital pathology solutions, announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for AISight Dx—its digital pathology image management system—for use in primary diagnosis in clinical settings. As part of the clearance, PathAI also received a Predetermined Change Control Plan (PCCP), enabling PathAI to validate and implement specified major changes and updates into AISight Dx without requiring additional 510(k) submissions. Building on the initial 510(k) clearance for AISight Dx(Novo) in 2022, this latest milestone underscores the platform’s continuous innovation and PathAI’s commitment to delivering enhanced capabilities as the product evolves. More here.
The Biospring Partners AGM took place in May. Please email ir@biospring.com for access to video content. We spent the first part of the meeting covering recent healthcare policy announcements (e.g., FDA replacing some animal model testing with novel technologies, drug pricing, NIH cuts, tariffs, etc.) and how they affect our themes and portfolio. The videos from the annual meeting highlight Dr. Moncef Slaoui’s views of the current landscape. Other Pharma speakers, including Tim Joy, Executive Director & Head of Strategic Solutions at Pfizer, spoke about clinical trial outsourcing needs.