With Expert Tech and Data Analysis, Bob Arnesen ’93 Helps Clinical Research Move Forward

As a business student studying marketing and finance, Bob Arnesen ’93 never initially pictured himself in the life sciences industry. Still, the sales and business development leader started in healthcare early in his career and never turned back. What he enjoys most about his work as Co-Founder and President of eClinical Solutions is helping customers reach their goals, and as he says, “connect the dots.” 

“We have the technology to give people answers in real-time,” says Arnesen. Hundreds of eClinical Solutions clients – from high-growth emerging biotechs to global leaders in the life sciences – rely on the company’s comprehensive clinical data analysis to answer a myriad of questions and ultimately one essential point: will my therapy in clinical trial successfully make it to market?  

“If your drug is not working in a clinical trial, you need to know immediately,” he says. 

To answer clinical and operational questions with speed and accuracy, eClinical Solutions offers the elluminate clinical data platform, and technology-enabled data services that seamlessly integrate and unify all clinical trial data sources to produce comprehensive analytics and data insights. 

“We work with any clinical research data, source, or structure. We ingest the data, perform data transformations, and publish analytics that deliver critical insights that help clinical trial managers make decisions in real-time.” To date, Arnesen and the team have supported thousands of clinical trials that test new drugs and therapies for oncology and rare diseases, as well as other indications. 

Most recently, with the ongoing coronavirus crisis, more than 60 percent of ongoing clinical trials are being interrupted or delayed. In response to the current environment, eClinical Solutions has added COVID-19 Analytics to the elluminate platform to help researchers manage the risks the pandemic presents for their ongoing clinical trials. The company has also gained new clients testing COVID-19 vaccines or treatments.

“We developed COVID-19 Analytics based on feedback from clients looking to expand their use of elluminate for immediate insights on the pandemic’s impact to ongoing clinical trials,” said Raj Indupuri, CEO of eClinical Solutions, in a press release. “After hearing similar needs across clients, we rapidly developed a validated, rich analytics app with smart visualizations that can be used for any trial. We are inspired by how hard the research community is working both to find a treatment for COVID-19 and to ensure critical new therapies in development continue to progress. We believe these analytics help minimize risks with trial conduct and help sponsors make better decisions during this time.”

Since forming the company in 2012, co-founders Indupuri and Arnesen have led with great success, growing from 15 to more than 200 employees, including an office in Bangalore, India. Arnesen was also recently recognized as a finalist for the Entrepreneur of the Year award in New England and credits his time at Curry for helping him “connect the dots” as a student. 

“As a student, I never applied myself until I was at Curry College. It was here where I found incredible opportunities, including connections with professors, and experienced a real joy in learning,” he says. “The Curry professors, including then Professor Quigley (now College President), were a big inspiration and helped me find my passion for business; it’s where I put everything together. The skills I learned at Curry still serve me today as a leader.”