Cunesoft offers cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions for regulated processes in the life sciences industry — Rainer Schwarz, one of the minds behind the Munich startup founded in 2013, explains what this means.
Drug approval at the touch of a button
Rainer, you offer a regulatory platform and content analysis software. What does that entail, and who uses your product?
The pharmaceutical industry, like other regulated industries—be it chemicals, aerospace, or banking—is still characterized by paper-intensive, manual processes.
We're committed to accelerating and automating regulatory processes in these very industries. Our intelligent, self-learning software for regulated processes can save companies up to 80% of process time.
For example, the software independently compiles the application for a drug approval based on the available data. The human then only needs to approve the proposed work.
Better quality of life through intelligent software
This is comparable to the introduction of the assembly line at the dawn of industrialization! And this time, too, the users will be the population. Because it will provide them with a greater variety of medical products. And this can significantly improve the quality of life.
What's the competition doing? Are there no regulatory platforms on the market yet?
We want to redefine processes, because making the wrong process faster doesn't get you anywhere. Our approach is very well received in the industry, even though new ideas always take some time for the market to internalize them. Our competitive advantage: We are more affordable than the competition. Those who use our solution save up to 70% of their costs. And we also save time. Because we can reduce the effort of regulatory data management by 80%.
At the same time, we are working very hard to maintain our development lead in order to maintain a competitive advantage in the future. The combination of regulatory expertise combined with artificial intelligence algorithms adapted for industry makes us unique. There is currently no comparable product on the market.
How did you come up with the idea for such a niche product?
After studying international business administration, I focused my career on IT, particularly software solutions for the pharmaceutical industry. I met my fellow founder, Daniel Koppers, who holds a degree in business informatics, on a joint project. We got along well and together developed the idea, Cunesoft to found.
“We rely on a great team”
What has been your biggest challenge so far?
As a young company, entering an existing market previously served by only a few companies remains a challenge. Cunesoft is still a small company, and to fully realize our potential, we rely on a great team.
Finding bright minds to support us in this development is a challenge we pay particular attention to. So far, we've been fortunate enough to find the right people at the right time.
You successfully completed Series A financing last year and expanded into the US. How's business otherwise?
Business is going very well. 2016 was a tremendously successful year for us. We saw a 300 percent increase in customers, and our team continued to grow. We now have 20 employees.
Through fresh capital Last year, we were able to further boost growth and expand our international business. We are headquartered in Munich and now have three international offices – in France, the USA, and India.
Nevertheless, we have also seen that everything costs twice as much and takes three times as long.
What are the next steps, where is the journey going?
We obviously have big plans for 2017. We will continue to improve our offering and expand our technological lead. This includes better user interfaces, smarter algorithms, and additional interfaces. Of course, we will continue to work closely with our customers. To this end, we will continue to expand our team and are considering new offices.
Your headquarters are in Munich – what does the Bavarian capital mean to you?
Munich is not only one of the most beautiful cities in Germany, it's also a good alternative to Berlin from a startup perspective. The numerous Munich-based biotechnology companies are also an interesting target group for us.
And last but not least: What does the name of your company mean?
The name is derived from the word cuneiform, the first known method of documentation. We chose "Cunesoft" as our company name because it combines the first method of documentation, "cune-," with "-soft" for software, the most modern method of storing information.
Thank you, Rainer Schwarz, for the interview!
