Ascension Ventures is backing a healthcare artificial intelligence startup.
Here are five things to know:
1. Ascension Ventures is the venture capital arm of the St. Louis-based health system.
2. It was among the investors in a $6.5 million seed funding round Nov. 5 for Research Grid.
3. The startup employs AI to automate back-office administrative functions for clinical trials, such as patient outreach, payments and data management.
4. "Whether you're a pharmaceutical company, a CRO [Contract Research Organization], or a clinical research site, we can help run faster, more successful clinical trials," Research Grid founder Amber Hill, PhD, said in a statement. "We've already seen how AI is accelerating drug discovery, and it's time to do the same in clinical trials."
5. Several other startups have been pursuing the lucrative clinical trials market, including one developed at Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Children's Hospital.