BioInformatiCo, a clinical data management firm based in Johannesburg, said it will open a seed funding round in the next two to three months to expand its Leova AI platform beyond the operational setting where it was developed.
Automating a labour-intensive start to trials
Clinical trials begin with a protocol that dictates what will be measured, who may participate and how data must be collected and evaluated. Translating that protocol into a working database — with forms, validation rules and tests — is a specialist, labour‑intensive task. According to BioInformatiCo, study teams can spend 10 to 20 weeks building and testing a database before the first participant can be enrolled.
Delays at this stage are costly and can be particularly burdensome for grant‑funded researchers investigating infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and Ebola, the company said. Errors in database design or insufficient testing can compromise data quality and require expensive rework.
How Leova changes the workflow
BioInformatiCo developed Leova from operational experience in clinical database management rather than as a standalone product seeking a market. The platform combines protocol interpretation, database construction and testing into a single workflow. A key feature is the use of synthetic participants to exercise and validate the system prior to the introduction of real trial data.
“Before the first participant can enrol, study teams may spend 10 to 20 weeks building and testing the database that will capture the study’s data, and for grant‑funded African researchers investigating vaccines for infectious diseases such as HIV, TB and Ebola, that preparation comes at a price,” said Shirley Collie, Founder and CEO of BioInformatiCo.
In one documented use, Leova reduced the specialist effort required for testing and validation from five days to one by pre‑testing with synthetic data, the company reported. That reduction highlights the platform’s potential to expose gaps early and avoid real‑world data problems.
- Leova integrates protocol parsing, database build and testing into one workflow.
- Use of synthetic participants allows earlier detection of configuration or logic gaps.
- BioInformatiCo plans a seed round in the next two to three months to scale Leova.
Context and potential consequences
If Leova can be scaled and validated across a range of study designs and regulatory settings, it could lower the time and cost barriers researchers face when initiating trials. Faster database readiness may help accelerate trial timelines, improve data quality and reduce the administrative burden on small research teams and institutions with limited resourcing.
Beyond South Africa, clinical research in many African settings is hampered by limited specialist capacity to build and validate trial databases. An automated approach that reliably translates protocols into tested database systems could be particularly beneficial for investigators working on priority infectious disease research.
BioInformatiCo’s move to open a seed round signals an intention to commercialise and broaden the platform’s reach. The outcome of that fundraising and subsequent product development will determine whether Leova remains a tool used within a single organisation or becomes a more widely adopted solution in the clinical trials ecosystem.
| Feature | Reported impact |
|---|---|
| Pre‑enrolment build and test time | 10 to 20 weeks typical |
| Testing and validation effort (example) | Reduced from five days to one |
| Planned action | Open seed funding round in 2–3 months |
BioInformatiCo’s reporting focuses on operational improvements and does not provide details about the size of the planned seed round or the specific timeline for broader deployment. Observers will be watching whether additional validation, regulatory alignment and funding follow, enabling the platform to support a wider range of trials and sponsors.
