Careers at Medidata Solutions
Mission
Medidata’s mission is to power smarter treatments and healthier people.
Founding story
Glen de Vries was a lab scientist working on his first clinical trial. He observed much inefficiency and suffered through several delays during the experience. Believing that technology could help solve these problems, he began developing a software-as-a-service solution. Its purpose would be to accelerate processes, minimize operational risk, enhance decision-making, and save resources.
In 1999 he partnered with businessman Tarek Sherif to found Medidata Solutions, a company that would market the solution and focus entirely on advanced clinical testing. Its first product was an electronic data capture (EDC) system designed for use by company researchers and physician site investigators in clinical trials. It was given the official name of Medidata Rave in 2002.
Over the next several years the company added many new administration, configuration, and data analysis tools to the offering that helped improve management and reporting. It also acquired several companies in order to boost its capabilities. In 2009 Medidata completed an initial public offering, becoming listed on the NASDAQ. It now has several offices worldwide.
Why work at Medidata Solutions
Customer Segments
Medidata has a segmented market business model, with customer groups that have slightly different needs.
The company targets its offerings at biotechnology firms, pharmaceutical firms, health care companies, diagnostic and biomarker developers, medical device manufacturers, academic and government researchers, and contract research organizations (CROs).
Value Proposition
Medidata offers four primary value propositions: innovation, accessibility, risk reduction, and brand/status.
The company has embraced innovation from the very beginning. Its first product, Medidata Rave, was the clinical trial industry’s first web-based and thin-client system that was operating system-independent and browser-independent. When the platform added a clinical data management (CDM) feature, it became the industry’s first unified platform for both CDM and EDC.
The company creates accessibility by providing a wide variety of options. It offers its technology on a multi-study basis and enterprise basis. It also offers its technology on a single-study basis for a limited number of trials so clients can evaluate it prior to committing to a multi-study arrangement. Medidata also increases accessibility by making its solutions interoperable with third-party software and data feeds. Lastly, it has acquired several companies since its founding, including CHITA, Intelemage, Clinical Force, and Fast Track. This has enabled it to significantly expand its capabilities.
The company reduces risk by maintaining high quality and security standards. It utilizes a broad range of approaches to secure client systems, including CobIT and NIST 800 security models. Its controls have received numerous certifications, including SOC-1, SOC-2, FISMA, and ISO27001:2013, and it has FedRamp Approval To Operate (ATO) with several government agencies. Lastly, it conducts frequent penetration testing, third-party reviews, and vulnerability assessments of its environment.
The company has established a strong brand due to its success. It has supported over 10,000 clinical trials, 370,000 sites, and 2.7 million trial volunteers in over 130 countries with the insights and infrastructure needed to bring new treatments to the public. It has over 850 customers, including 17 of the top 25 pharmaceutical firms. Clients across industries include Celltrion, ONO Pharmaceutical, C&R Research, and Peking University. It has over 1,500 employees operating out of 11 offices in the U.S., UK, Japan, China, South Korea, and Singapore. Lastly, it has won many honors, including:
- Recognition as one of the Premier 100 IT Leaders by Computerworld
- Ranking on the Detroit Technology Fast 500 (also named a “Rising Star“)
- Recognition as North American Healthcare Information Technologies Entrepreneurial Company of the Year by Frost & Sullivan
- Drug Information Association Founders Service Award
- Ranking on Inc. 500’s list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in the United States
Channels
Medidata’s main channel is its direct sales team. It also sells its offerings through CROs, system integrators, and other strategic partners. The company promotes its offerings through its website, social media pages, advertising, and participation in conferences.
It hosts Medidata Symposium, an annual event that enables customers to network with peers and meet Medidata executives.
Customer Relationships
Medidata’s customer relationship is primarily of a personal assistance nature. The company assists customers in the following ways:
Support Services – The company provides phone and e-mail service on a 24x7 basis.
Training Services – The company operates Medidata Academy, a program that provides training on its solutions through instructor-led virtual courses and classroom courses at Medidata offices and client sites. The classes offer hands-on experience customized to individual roles.
Professional Services – The company offers advisory services for clinical trial processes and technology. Specific services include the following:
- Study Implementation Service – Designs and develops fast, flexible clinical trials for clients, with features including high-quality study design and collaborative project management.
- Sponsor Enablement Service – Helps clients take full ownership of their clinical trial systems and provides ongoing operational consulting and business process optimization.
Key Activities
Medidata’s business model entails designing and developing its products and delivering related services to clients.
Key Partners
Medidata maintains the following types of partnerships:
- Contract Research Organizations (CROs) – The company works with over 50 organizations that implement its solutions for clients and help them manage their businesses. Specific partners include C&R Research, Everest Clinical Research, INC Research, Ozmosis Research, and PharPoint Research.
- Core Labs – The company works with laboratories as part of the clinical trial development process. Specific partners include Biomedical Systems, Medical Metrics, and WorldCare Clinical.
- System Integrators – The company works with providers that offer business/management consulting services to firms in the life sciences, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical sectors; they provide their expertise to its clients. Specific partners include Accenture, Cognizant, and Tata Consultancy Services.
- Technical Alliances – The company works with technology organizations that provide supplementary capabilities to mutual customers within the Medidata Clinical Cloud platform. Specific partners include Boston Technology, eClinical Solutions, Formedix, and LifeMap Solutions.
Beyond these four groups, Medidata also works with developers. It operates Medidata Developer Central, through which it offers tools and resources for developers that want to integrate their solutions with Medidata Rave via the Rave Web Services API.
Key Resources
Medidata’s main resources are its human resources, who include the engineers that design and develop its products, the sales employees that promote them, the training/consulting employees that provide instruction/advice, and the customer service personnel that provide support.
It has relied on funding from investors, raising $20 million as of June 2004.
Cost Structure
Medidata has a value-driven cost structure, aiming to provide a premium proposition through significant personal service and frequent service enhancements. Its biggest cost driver is cost of revenues, a variable expense.
Other major drivers are in the areas of sales/marketing, research/development, and administration, all fixed costs.
Revenue Streams
Medidata has two revenue streams:
- Subscription services (represent 85% of revenues)
- Professional services (represent 15% of revenues)
Benefits at Medidata Solutions
Our team
info: Tarek earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Economics at Yale University and a degree in Business Administration and Finance at Columbia Business School. He previously managed equity funds focused on private and public technology and life sciences firms.
info: Glen earned an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Carnegie Mellon University and studied Computer Science at New York University. He previously served as President of OceanTek.
info: Rouven earned a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering at Technical University of Kaiserslautern and a Ph.D. in Economics and Finance at the University of Munich. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer of SAP North America.
info: Mike earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science at Dickinson College and an MBA in Finance at Pace University. He previously served as Chief Information Officer and CVP of Product Development at ADP, where he worked for 25 years.