Mitsui & Co. has invested USD 8 million in Lokavant Holdings Inc. ("Lokavant"), a US clinical trial intelligence technology company that improves the efficiency and quality of clinical trials for investigational medicines.

Lokavant, which was incubated by US biotech company Roivant Sciences Ltd. (Roivant Sciences), provides clinical trial intelligence that enables study teams to make data-driven decisions as well as risk-based quality management and monitoring services to pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations (CROs).

Lokavant has developed novel technologies to manage clinical trial data from multiple sources, compare it with historical data to identify issues early, and monitor clinical trial progress in real-time using advanced predictive and AI powered models in order to improve clinical trial efficiency and performance.

Lokavant's tech-enabled solution directly tackles some of the most significant challenges in the pharmaceutical industry of bringing drugs to market, including growing research and development costs and inefficiencies in clinical trial conduct that have delayed product launches by several years. Lokavant's platform had reduced protocol deviations by 70% when deployed on Japanese studies.

Mitsui will use its expertise and network to help expand Lokavant's customer base and improve clinical trial efficiency for pharmaceutical companies and CROs in Japan and across Asia. Mitsui will also work with Roivant Sciences to explore further opportunities for data-based pharmaceutical development business and potential collaborations with partners within Mitsui's diverse business portfolio.