Headquartered to Lead How Inventus built the world's first purpose-designed tech for clinical trials - delivering half a million clinical-grade devices and pioneering a circular economy solution.

In an era where clinical trials are under pressure to deliver faster and more reliably, London based Inventus - co-founded by Steve Sanghera and Jim Michel - rewrote the technology playbook. Instead of repurposing consumer gadgets, Inventus engineered purpose-built, ready-to-deploy devices tailored for trials. This leap has enabled trial infrastructure to be not only compliant and accessible but also sustainable, with every device recoverable for future use. Armed with half a million devices deployed globally, Inventus is moving into a new UK headquarters, scaling up its operations in lockstep with the UK's ambition to slash trial set-up timelines and lead global medical innovation. Entrepreneur UK finds out more...

What problem are you solving, and why now in the UK?
I co-founded Inventus in 2020 alongside my business partner and Inventus' chairman, Jim Michel, where we had a shared vision to solve a critical technology pain point in the life sciences sector. At the time, many clinical trials relied on consumer devices not designed for medical use, leading to compliance, accessibility and reliability issues. This caused delays or even failures in trials - both of which incur huge costs and can prevent life-changing treatments from reaching patients.

Drawing on decades of experience in the telecommunications industry, we developed the world-first, purpose-built technology solutions designed specifically for clinical trials. We listened to the challenges pharmaceutical companies faced, from the need for robust, pre-configured solutions to ensuring the right technology reached the right place at the right time, anywhere in the world. By providing end-to-end digital infrastructure, we have become the only company in the world to deliver this type of complete, best-in-class solution.

The UK is on a mission to strengthen its position as a global leader in clinical trials, setting ambitions to cut study set-up times to 150 days or less. Having technology solutions that provide accessible, fast and accurate clinical trial infrastructure is therefore more essential now than ever before, and we're committed to supporting the UK on this journey.

What's been your biggest turning point so far?
We recently celebrated our five year anniversary in operation, which coincided with a major milestone for the business – deploying over 500,000 devices across a multitude of clinical trials, therapeutic areas and countries. Knowing that we've been able to make a positive impact to so many vital research trials already is a huge moment for us.

We are also committed to making a positive impact through focusing on sustainability within the Life Sciences sector through our dedicated circular economy solution. All Inventus devices can be recycled or repurposed, with global collection and reverse logistics available once a clinical trial has ended. Zero waste goes to landfill and the process is fully certified for CO₂ and ESG reporting. This approach not only reduces environmental impact but also helps pharmaceutical partners meet their own sustainability goals.

How are you adapting to the current UK climate?
We founded Inventus during the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore we have faced a number of challenges. However, we have continued to thrive despite economic headwinds by maintaining a lean operational model and prioritising investment in product innovation over cost-cutting. This strategy has enabled the business to protect jobs, expand our UK team and continue delivering exceptional results for global clients. As a direct result of sustained growth, we are now moving to a larger UK headquarters to accommodate our expanding workforce and operations. Because our devices and solutions are designed exclusively for clinical trials, we have been able to demonstrate not only an improved patient and site experience but also tangible financial savings for our partners, supporting growth even in challenging circumstances.

What's one underrated move that made a big impact?
Something that is certainly not and has never been underrated by us, but may be by other businesses, is the power of culture and the team you have to take your business on your journey with you. As a founder, that has experience in technology and devices, but not in the pharmaceutical world, hiring brilliant talent that could support was essential for achieving what we have done so far. But it doesn't stop once you've hired the talent, ensuring they are brought into the fold, and feel part of the Inventus family has always been incredibly important to me. That's when we always do our best work.

What's one lesson you'd share with new founders?
Never give up and believe in yourself, your goals, vision and strategy.

What excites you most about building in the UK?
While we operate globally, in four countries, we are proud to be headquartered in the UK, and we believe in doing so we have access to unbelievable talent to help drive our business forward. The UK government is committed to advancing research and innovation for the life sciences sector, and therefore it is an exciting place for Inventus to be as we know we can significantly support this mission in strengthening the UK's position as a global leader in clinical trials and medical research from our technology solutions.