Start-up Studycache's software focuses on digitizing research data

Clinical research is often seen as part of the cutting edge of science but one downtown Detroit-based start-up is trying to bring research into the 21st Century.

Studycache is developing software that digitizes the research process, getting rid of paper forms and replacing it with software that executes the bureaucratic end of research faster and more efficiently than traditional methods.

"We were shocked at how much paper is used in research and how many errors are being introduced because so much paper is being used," says Alok Sharma, who co-founded Studycache with Matt Dobson. "We have heard clinical studies throwing out months of research because people weren't filling out the forms properly. The person explaining it to us said it was pretty common. It was a real eye-opener for us."

Studycache, founded in December, is made up of two employees, two independent contractors and one intern. It is testing the software in research studies now. It's aiming to launch the software later this year.

"A year from now we'd like to have a number of full-time people working on this," Sharma says. "We would love to haver a couple hundred studies going on at any given time."

Source: Alok Sharma, co-founder of Studycache
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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