SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Bigfinite, a provider of data analytics and AI solutions for optimizing the pharmaceutical manufacturing process, today announced that it has raised $8.5 million in a seed round of financing led by Crosslink Capital, Uncork Capital (formerly SoftTech VC) and La Famiglia. Industry Ventures and Krohne also participated in the round. Omar El-Ayat, Partner, Crosslink Capital and Andy McLoughlin, Partner, Uncork Capital (formerly SoftTech VC) will join Bigfinite’s Board of Directors.

The pharma manufacturing process yields massive amounts of data and since it comes from numerous sources, in a variety of formats, and is stored in disparate locations — it’s messy. A 2013 McKinsey report imagined a future where instead of rigid data silos that are difficult to exploit, data are captured electronically and flow easily between functions (e.g., discovery and clinical development, as well as to external partners, for instance, physicians and contract research organizations) — powering the real-time and predictive analytics that generate business value.

With 30 years of experience in pharma and IT, Bigfinite co-founders have a vision for making this imagined future a reality, and are on a mission to improve the pharma manufacturing process using big data and artificial intelligence (AI). Working closely with industry partners and scientific advisors, Bigfinite has developed more than a dozen use cases for its Bigengine SaaS platform, from predictive maintenance and multisite realtime visibility to process quality review and energy efficiency monitoring.

Bigfinite also just launched its new version of Bigengine (Bigifnite AI SaaS Platorm for Pharma Manufacturing, v 1.5). This version includes a drag and drop solutions editor and five new solutions: Predictive Maintenance, Predictive OEE, Golden Batch, Energy efficiency and Causality Detection.

“In the US alone, 70 percent of pharma manufacturing data is never used,” said Pep Gubau, Founder and CEO, Bigfinite. “Our Bigengine platform helps pharma companies discover new ways to optimize processes, reduce manufacturing quality issues, and enhance regulatory compliance, with the potential for a six-month return on investment.”

According to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, the average cost to develop and gain marketing approval for a new drug is over $2.5 billion. As pharma companies evaluate strategies to shorten the drug development process and decrease costs, big data analytics and AI show great promise.

“The pharma manufacturing process is complex, lengthy and expensive,” said Omar El-Ayat, Partner, Crosslink Capital. “The Bigfinite team has the expertise and technology platform to help the pharma industry make changes that could greatly improve the manufacturing process. Before launching Bigfinite, they had already successfully built two pharmaceutical IT companies for stastical control and regulatory compliance, both of which were acquired by global corporations.”

Bigfinite has 32 employees between its US office in San Francisco, Calif. and its European office in Barcelona, Spain, and expects to double in size by the end of Q2 2018. The company plans to use this seed round of capital to expand its business development and customer support efforts.

About Bigfinite
Bigfinite is a provider of data analytics and AI solutions for optimizing the pharmaceutical manufacturing process. Its Bigengine SaaS platform helps pharma companies discover new ways to optimize processes, reduce manufacturing quality issues, and enhance regulatory compliance. Founded in 2013, the company is based in San Francisco, Calif. and also has a European office in Barcelona, Spain.

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SOURCE Bigfinite