Qualifyze announced the closing of a Series A financing round of 14 million USD. HV Capital led the financing round. Qualifyze also received further support from existing investors, Cherry Ventures, Rheingau Founders, Axel Springer Porsche, and Dr. Udo Jung.
The Qualifyze way
Qualifyze strives to solve the problem of supply shortages in the pharmaceutical industry, an issue that has been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through its online platform and digitization of physical inspections, the start-up is creating the largest database on supplier performance in the pharmaceutical industry. Qualifyze then makes this data available to its customers once consent from the supplier has been obtained.
In the long term, Qualifyze aims to offer a Compliance-as-a-Service model and provide liability guarantees for supply chains in addition to pure auditing and data evaluation. Qualifyze aims to grow its affiliated suppliers 10-fold and boost recruitment across its German and Spanish offices with the new investment.
Problems of the industry that need solving
Product recalls, and supply chain issues are a regular phenomenon across many industries. However, they are particularly critical in the pharmaceutical industry, where recalls can have dramatic effects and can quickly lead to supply bottlenecks for medicine.
Between 2000 and 2018, bottlenecks as such have increased twentyfold across the EU, and today, up to 50% of the drugs currently missing are needed for the likes of cancer therapy, anti-infectives (vaccines), and treatment of diseases related to the nervous system (epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease). This issue also has devastating consequences for pharmaceutical companies themselves, who not only lose out on billions of Euros but are also delayed in their research into developing new drugs.
Qualifyze founders are proud of the result of the financing round
Florian Hildebrand, Co-CEO of Qualifyze: “I am very proud of our team’s performance over the last 12 months. With HV Capital, we now have a partner who can help us achieve our ambitions even faster. Our aspiration is to create something significant for the industry and, at the same time, play a central role in a sustainable and economic future. True supply chain control only works through reliable and continuous data. There is no alternative to our approach.”
Dr. David Schneider, Co-CEO of Qualifyze: “Qualifyze helps pharmaceutical companies ensure quality standards in the supply chain by giving them access to the world’s largest cloud-based supplier database. By continuously integrating supplier data, companies can better assess risks in the supply chain and always improve. This takes us beyond just compliance, as we identify trends and intelligently connect and analyze data points.”
HV Capital is now onboard at Qualifyze
Felix Klühr, Partner at HV Capital: “We are very excited about HV Capital’s investment in Qualifyze, whose platform addresses the acute problem of global supply chain security within the pharmaceutical industry. Not least through Covid-19, we have seen the macroeconomic impact that can arise from quality risks in supply chains.
“The team has been able to achieve impressive growth on its client, supplier, and auditor sides in recent months, and is on course to continue this success story. I strongly expect that emerging regulation such as the Due Diligence Act, as well as the ever-deepening interconnectedness of global supply chains, will further accelerate demand for Qualifyze’s technology.”