HumanFirst

Operating as a subsidiary of ICON plc, HumanFirst is a technology firm focused on enhancing clinical research through precision measurement. The company provides a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, named Atlas, designed to assist biopharmaceutical companies and academic researchers in the selection and deployment of digital health technologies for clinical trials. This enables more efficient, patient-centric research and development. The business model is centered on providing access to its comprehensive data platform and workflow solutions to pharmaceutical and biotech organizations. These clients utilize the platform to de-risk trial designs and accelerate the development of new treatments.

Founded in 2017 as Elektra Labs and headquartered in San Francisco, the company was co-founded by Andrea (Andy) Coravos. Coravos' background merges healthcare, finance, and technology; she worked at McKinsey & Company and KKR before transitioning to software engineering, with roles at Instacart and Akili Interactive, a digital therapeutics company. This varied experience, including a period as an Entrepreneur in Residence at the FDA's Digital Health Unit, shaped the company's mission to create a more reliable system for deploying connected technologies in healthcare. In January 2024, HumanFirst was acquired by ICON, a global clinical research organization, for approximately $13.3 million.

The core offering is the Atlas platform, an extensive evidence-based database and workflow tool. Atlas houses a vast repository of information on over 10,000 digital measures, and thousands of connected sensors and wearables. The platform allows research teams to evaluate and compare these tools, access validation studies, and understand their application across over 800 medical conditions. It helps streamline protocol design and supports the shift toward decentralized or hybrid clinical trials by providing the necessary infrastructure to manage digital measures effectively. The platform provides insights into AI-powered biomarkers and clinical outcome assessments from various sources, including sensors, questionnaires, and imaging data. To foster broader adoption, HumanFirst has offered free versions of its platform, such as OpenAtlas and AtlasEDU, to the public and academic researchers, respectively.

Keywords: clinical trial technology, digital health technologies, digital biomarkers, decentralized clinical trials, clinical outcome assessments, patient-centered research, SaaS platform, biopharmaceutical services, CRO services, connected sensors, wearables in research, Atlas platform, digital measures, protocol design, clinical data management, health technology assessment, evidence-based deployment, ICON plc, Elektra Labs, Andrea Coravos