Munich Startup: When we last spokeYou said that Climedo aims to give doctors more time for patients through a meaningful interaction between artificial and human intelligence. Were you able to achieve this goal?
Sascha Ritz, Co-Founder and CEO of Climedo: Absolutely. We now offer Climedo platform first interfaces to AI. Our solution focuses on patient stratification (Editor's note: assessing the risk that an existing progressive disease may lead to complications or death), subgroup analysis, and real-time reporting using GenAI (generative intelligence) in ongoing studies. Our goal is to enable personalized and effective therapies through a precise understanding of patient needs.
This patient-centric approach has been increasingly facilitated by our platform. We place great value on end-user feedback and conduct regular interviews, focus groups, and surveys with physicians, patients, and key opinion leaders. This iterative process optimizes our feature development and ensures high usability and appealing design.
The results speak for themselves: We have achieved above-average patient retention and data completeness in studies.
Data treasure versus data protection
Munich Startup: What obstacles did you encounter along the way?
Sascha Ritz: On the one hand, there is the issue of data treasures versus data protection: According to Health Minister Lauterbach, 80 percent of statutory health insurance patients should have an electronic patient record (ePA) by 2025. This enables the digital provision of important health data, which would also enrich clinical trials. According to a survey by Climedo, patients are open to using the ePA in trials. The development of a data treasure and "real-world evidence" (RWE) play an important role here. RWE demonstrates the effectiveness of medicines in patients in the real world, supports medical decisions, and complements research findings. Ideally, this data treasure will also be fed back to patients. With the ePA and the support of AI, risks and side effects can also be identified much earlier.
Lauterbach's strategy also advocates the availability and linkability of data from various sources. While many industries have long since gone fully digital, the healthcare system in Germany lags far behind. This is also reflected in clinical research, which is crucial for medical innovation. The impact on study results is serious. In my view, data protection and data treasures should not conflict with each other, but rather intertwine.
Furthermore, while the pharmaceutical industry is watching innovations such as AI with great interest and we are receiving increasing numbers of customer inquiries about them, actual investments are often slow to materialize.
Demand for real-time insights is increasing
Munich Startup: How has your solution evolved?
Sascha Ritz: Demand for real-time insights into ongoing trials is rapidly increasing. It's no longer sufficient to receive the first results 18 to 24 months after study completion, as is typically the case. With Climedo's real-time insights, study physicians can be better engaged by directly and anonymously comparing patients. Patients can also be better informed about trends or where they are in a clinical trial. Our "Data to Dialogue" approach, which emphasizes transparency and education among physicians and patients, supports the market launch of innovative therapies, ensuring that the most effective and safest therapies prevail and reach patients more quickly.
Munich Startup: And how are things looking financially for you?
Sascha Ritz: We were recently profitable, but at the end of 2021 we decided to go for an external “Financial injection“ to accelerate product development and marketing. The next Financing round is planned for early 2025, ideally with strategic investors from the industry. They can help us not only with investment but also with accelerating the commercialization of our product.
Climedo: Regional roots provide a strong competitive advantage
Munich Startup: What learnings did you gain in Founding team take with you so far?
Sascha Ritz: Our regional roots ("Made in Germany/Europe") are a strong competitive advantage when addressing European pharmaceutical companies. Therefore, it makes sense for us to continue our focus on the DACH region and Europe. The end-user orientation we have had from the very beginning is extremely valuable for our paying industrial customers in the pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors. We raised money when we didn't necessarily need it – we were profitable at the end of 2021. However, no one could have foreseen the economic downturn in early/mid-2022. Nevertheless, we seized the opportunity and conducted a seed round.
Munich Startup: What role has the Munich ecosystem played in your journey so far?
Sascha Ritz: Definitely a very important role: We benefit from excellent networking with other founders and have diverse learning opportunities across different industries. The strong presence of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the region is also particularly valuable. Our customers also enjoy visiting us, especially during Oktoberfest.
One of the next steps: The team should grow
Munich Startup: What milestones are you working towards next?
Sascha Ritz: Our next milestones include growing our team and expanding our capacities. Internationalization in Europe is also on our agenda to expand our sphere of influence and enter new markets. After the next financing round, we aim to move toward profitability to ensure long-term stability and growth.
