RTI International backs Navidence to fix clinical research's definition problem
What's the deal? RTI International, an independent scientific research institute, has made a strategic equity investment in Navidence, an AI-native startup working to standardise how diseases, treatments, and outcomes are defined across clinical research. The investment amount was not disclosed.
Navidence, founded in 2022, has built a platform around what it calls Computable Operational Definitions (CODefs) — standardised, machine-readable definitions of key study elements like diagnoses, therapies, outcomes, and patient eligibility criteria. The partnership pairs RTI's epidemiological expertise with Navidence's data science and medical informatics platform.
Why now? Inconsistent definitions of basic clinical concepts remain a structural weakness in research infrastructure. Even simple diagnostic criteria can require weeks or months of manual alignment from cross-functional teams — introducing errors that undermine the reproducibility and credibility of studies underpinning billions of dollars in life sciences investment.
RTI's move follows earlier strategic investments in Nested Knowledge, b.well Connected Health, and BEK Health, signalling a broader institutional push toward AI-enabled tools that improve evidence generation.
What could go wrong? Standardising definitions across a fragmented research ecosystem is a massive coordination challenge. Regulators, clinicians, and life sciences companies each have entrenched workflows and terminology. Adoption depends not just on the technology's quality but on whether stakeholders trust and accept a shared framework — especially one built by a young startup.
The signal: This deal reflects a growing recognition that research infrastructure, not just research itself, needs an upgrade. As real-world evidence plays a bigger role in regulatory submissions and treatment decisions, the tools underlying that evidence face more scrutiny. RTI's bet on Navidence suggests that the industry is moving past point solutions and toward systemic fixes — standardising the foundations on which clinical studies are built.
"Navidence tackles a long-standing challenge in life sciences research by bringing clarity and standardisation to how health data are defined and operationalised," said Asli Aras, vice president and head of corporate development at RTI International.
Read more: pulse2.com
