Eclipse Clinical Technologies, a start-up firm which develops internet-based clinical trials, has raised more than €2.5 million to fund its early stage development.

The firm, which was founded in 2001 by a pharmaceutical executive Mr Pascal King and information technology specialist Mr Stephen Booth, raised the cash from a group of investors led by ICC Venture Capital, a division of Bank of Scotland.

Seroba BioVentures, a dedicated life sciences venture capitalist, and the Guinness Ireland Ulster Bank Equity Fund, which is managed by NCB Ventures, also invested in the firm. Enterprise Ireland, which was a seed investor in Eclipse, has also contributed to the funding round.

Eclipse is developing technologies that enable the rapid electronic gathering, correlation and analysis of clinical trial data. The company is targeting the later phases of clinical trials, known as phase-four trials, which had involved laborious paper-based administration, monitoring and analysis techniques. The firm is developing technology that will use encrypted internet systems to enable doctors to input patient data using electronic case record forms, accessible on the web.

This should reduce the administrative burden inherent in the clinical trials process by facilitating accurate monitoring and supervision of patients.

The system can also provide regulators, pharmaceutical firms and physicians with real-time patient information and reports on ongoing trials, says Eclipse, which claims to be conducting a study with at least one major unnamed pharmaceutical firm.

Eclipse provides clinical data management services and will shortly introduce its electronic data capture application for internet enabled trials.