SAN FRANCISCO, June 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Aktana, the pioneer
in decision support for global life science companies, today
announced a $17.5 million financing
led by Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE), which will
initially deploy up to $8.25 million.
Existing investor Starfish Ventures and others are also
participating in the financing. Closing is expected on or before
June 16, 2016. Aktana will use
proceeds from the financing primarily for continued product
development and international expansion. The company plans to open
offices in China and Europe, adding to its current offices in
San Francisco, New York City, and Tokyo.
Founded in 2011, Aktana focuses exclusively on the life sciences
market, which has contributed to multi-year growth rates of more
than 100%, and relationships with seven of the world's top 15
pharmaceutical companies. Aktana helps these customers improve
their commercial effectiveness by delivering data-driven insights
and suggestions directly to sales reps, coordinating multi-channel
actions, and providing insight regarding which strategies work best
for which customers under which conditions.
"Safeguard is keenly focused on deploying capital and building
value in companies that make data actionable," said Al
Wiegman, Managing Director at Safeguard, who will join Aktana's
Board of Directors. "Aktana is at the center of this data exchange
for life sciences companies. We believe that Aktana will be the de
facto standard for the life science industry as it strives to turn
data into knowledge, streamlining and improving efforts around
product commercialization. Aktana has already proven to be an
invaluable partner to many of the world's top pharmaceutical and
medical device companies, with more in the pipeline."
Once a game plan has been developed around a customer's existing
strategy, Aktana's Decision Support Engine examines market data and
cross-channel activity, identifies best actions and supporting
insights, and learns what works best. Empowered with suggestions
and insights right in their CRM workflow, reps can focus on
building stronger physician relationships and generating improved
results. Marketing teams are similarly supported with actionable
intelligence to improve commercial strategies continuously and over
time.
"Our strict emphasis on supporting the sales and marketing teams
of life sciences companies has been a key driver to our early
success," said David Ehrlich, CEO,
Aktana. "But we also see the potential of what we can do to
personalize and customize the experience for everyone in the
information loop, especially physicians. The one-size-fits-all
approach to supporting physicians is over."
"The Aktana team was ahead of their time five years ago as they
sought to understand the benefit of analytics for non-technical
personnel," said Tony Glenning,
Director, Starfish Ventures. "By learning as much about their
target audience as the technology, they've developed an empathy for
the user and their market that ultimately drives success as much as
the solution does."
About Aktana
Aktana is the pioneer in decision
support for global life science sales teams. The company's
data-fueled suggestions and insights are delivered within a sales
professional's existing CRM workflow, serving as a critical ally in
data leverage and better decision-making. Aktana serves
the entire organization by helping to coordinate multichannel
marketing initiatives and facilitating learning via reporting on
which program elements are most successful for which
customers. Aktana is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York, Tokyo and San
Diego. For more information, visit www.aktana.com.
About Safeguard Scientifics
Safeguard Scientifics,
Inc. (NYSE:SFE) has a distinguished track record of fostering
innovation and building market leaders. For more than 60 years,
Safeguard has been providing growth capital and operational support
to entrepreneurs across an evolving spectrum of industries. Today,
Safeguard targets early- and growth-stage companies in advertising
technology, digital media, financial technology, enterprise
software, digital health and healthcare IT. For more information,
please visit www.safeguard.com or follow us on Twitter
@safeguard.
About Starfish Ventures
Established in 2001, Starfish
Ventures is an Australian venture capital fund manager partnering
with high growth technology and life sciences companies with global
potential. Starfish has over $400M in
funds under management and has made investments in over 60
companies. For more information, visit www.starfishvc.com.
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SOURCE Aktana