Blackbird
Get results faster and cheaper.
Offered exclusively to RA Capital portfolio companies, Blackbird is a fully integrated clinical development and patient engagement platform. We’re your thought partner for delivering faster, cheaper clinical results, without compromising data integrity. We turn clinical trials from potential risks into competitive advantages.
Our partnership model
We exist to eliminate clinical development delays.
We’ve seen promising companies fail when they choose the wrong clinical trial approach, sites, or vendors. We’ve seen trial delays that erode value and waste cash. Blackbird exists to mitigate and eliminate those challenges.
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Operational excellence is the key to success
Don’t let your asset fail for operational reasons. Blackbird is an OpEx force multiplier with cross-portfolio operational insights.
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Early patient engagement is essential
Trial participation requires courage. We help your company support patients from the pre-clinical stage through commercialization.
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Optimize your outsourcing strategy
Established strategic alliances with key development vendors enable lower cost, higher attention, and acceleration opportunities.
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Navigate murky regulatory waters
Work with regulatory strategists who share your goals to avoid pitfalls.
Core services
Delivering experience, capability, and partnership
Blackbird offers mission-critical “leadership-on-demand” across three integrated service areas.
Development Strategy & Operations
Program leadership when you need it
From program management and development operations to outsourcing strategy and resource planning, we embed with your team to accelerate development timelines and optimize vendor relationships.
- Cross-functional alignment
- Program leadership
- Development resource planning
- Vendor strategic alliances & oversight strategies
- Clinical development strategy & operations
- CMC & technical operations
Patient-Centered Innovation
Turning patient insights into competitive advantage
Your pharma competitors invest heavily in patient engagement. We manage scores of patient relationships and can jumpstart this critical function earlier than most biotech companies — from patient-centered trial design to recruitment strategies that actually work.
- Patient-centered trial design
- Patient advocacy partnerships
- Patient engagement strategy
- Patient recruitment & retention
- Patient insight implementation
Regulatory strategy
Navigating the path to approval
We help secure breakthrough designations and accelerate approval pathways through robust regulatory strategy — from target product profiles to health authority interactions and regulatory designations.
- Regulatory strategy development
- Health authority interaction planning
- Regulatory designation guidance
- Target product profile development
- Labeling strategy
Your end-to-end, proactive development partner for critical challenges
Our process
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Step 1
Strategic planning
Holistic and data-driven evaluation of development strategy and operational optimization.
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Step 2
Big picture support
Incorporating patient community feedback early into protocol design is essential. We help you do that and work to ensure you have the right vendors and partners in place to execute.
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Step 3
Delivery
We can help you recruit your study, troubleshoot problems as they arise, and ensure operational excellence is embedded every step of the way.
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Step 4
On-call thought partnership
Blackbird is (literally) invested in your success. Our flexible model and approach allows us to meet your company where you are and provide support as needed.
Additional capabilities
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Patient compensation calculator
Blackbird is on a mission to transform how the industry manages patients within clinical trials. We quantify patient time, travel, and procedure burden with unprecedented precision. Our proprietary calculator, featured in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, transforms patient compensation from ‘compliance checkbox’ to recruitment accelerator.
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RA Capital Swiftbridge
China R&D accelerator
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Strategic vendor alliances
Blackbird leverages RA Capital’s market power to deliver pre-negotiated contracting, preferred payment terms, financial discounts and additional robust governance layers with a roster of strategically-aligned vendors.
Testimonials
How Blackbird partners
Board-Level Clinical Execution Support
Prepare for clinical execution subcommittees
More biotech companies are implementing Clinical Execution (ClinEx) Subcommittees as part of normal Board of Directors meetings. Blackbird helps companies prepare with best practices and supports teams to facilitate more successful board interactions.