Online R&D provider raises more funds

Science Exchange, an online research outsourcing venture launched in 2011, has raised $28 million in a new financing round led by Norwest Venture Partners. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm offers its users access to more than 2,500 R&D service providers, primarily in the pharmaceutical sector, including contract research and manufacturing firms as well as government and academic labs. It claims 10 of the top 20 drug companies as customers. Science Exchange added Covance’s nonclinical science services—including lead optimization, safety assessment, drug metabolism, and bioanalytical research—to its site last month. In June, it partnered with the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation to connect researchers working on central nervous system diseases with a network of contract research organizations. Science Exchange has raised $58 million since its inception. It plans to use the new funding to expand to other sectors, including agriculture, cosmetics, aerospace, and industrial chemistry.