WoW Woman in Health Tech I Livia Ng, founder and CEO of Neuroute
Livia Ng is the founder and CEO of Neuroute, intelligent software for clinical trial recruitment that redefines patient recruitment.
Tell us a bit about your background and your projects so far.
I am a founder, a scientist, and a connector of people. In my current role as Founder/CEO at Neuroute (formerly Neucruit), I am focused on building tech that connects people, data, and technology: optimizing the development of life-changing medications for patients.
Since 2019, Neuroute has been known as a platform for emerging healthcare startups to accelerate patient recruitment. To date, our clients have included Motto, Modus TX, and Flow. However, we’ve recently evolved and expanded our offerings as a data and SaaS platform, which means that we can support healthcare founders from an early stage to scale through feasibility, site selection, and patient recruitment - critical steps in their journey to bring their products to market.
At its core, Neuroute helps bring clinical products to market efficiently by mining a collection of data from more than 1,500 hospital sites, 7000 disease areas, 115 million patient-reported outcomes across 125 countries, and 5 trillion consumer insights - ready to support founders to make a real impact.
How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?
I attended University College London, where I studied Neuroscience for my Undergrad degree. I then went on to study for a Master’s in Neuroscience at Imperial College London f, followed by a stint in academic research in the biotech sector.
It was during this period that I noticed just how slow, complex and inefficient the recruitment of patients for research studies was. I saw first-hand how expensive delays and the notable lack of patient diversity were holding back scientific progress and draining budgets. This is what inspired me to grow Neuroute out of a research project I worked on, backed by Oxford University, Imperial College London, and UCL. I’m now leading Neuroute and using Oxford Technology's seed funding to build out a talented team of cross-functional neuroscientists, designers, and engineers, in order to refine and scale Neuroute’s offering from 1-1 contracts to a self-serve platform. As a 25-year-old female from the BME community, I’ve often felt like an outsider in the world of STEM and startups. There weren’t many people like me who I could look up to or ask for advice. But this only motivated me to work harder, defy the stereotypes, and become a role model for the next generation of entrepreneurial women like me.
How long did it take you to be where you are now? What was the biggest obstacle? What are the challenges of being in the industry you are in?
Although I’m still at a very early stage in my career, I’ve worked hard to build a first-class team around me with extensive experience and varied expertise. Together, we’ve navigated our fair share of hurdles and obstacles.
A big challenge in the early stages of building Neuroute was to ensure that our offering was geared to solve the pain points that really mattered to health tech companies. This meant we had to be constantly in communication with our end-users, and be very receptive to adapting and continuously improving our products. In terms of industry-wide challenges, everyone who works in the health tech space knows that the technology, commercial and regulatory landscape is rapidly shifting. To remain relevant, startups have to constantly work to stay at the cutting edge of the sector and secure their longevity - even if that means pivoting their offering or adapting their product.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
I’m proud of having raised over $1 million to scale Neuroute, and having built a truly exceptional team of cross-functional neuroscientists, designers, and engineers.
We have delivered patient recruitment 5x faster than industry standard across 65+ clinical trials, including with Johnson & Johnson. In a nationwide anxiety and depression study, our tech facilitated a 670% increase in BME patient participation.
In addition to this, in 2021 I received an award from the EU Commission for developing a breakthrough technology that will create new markets and scale up internationally. In that year, I also received an award from Innovate UK for a game-changing R&D innovation that can significantly impact the UK economy.
What are the projects you are currently working on?
Our vision is a world where the development of therapeutics is led by patients, fuelling solutions that drastically improve quality of life. As a result, we are in the process of creating 2 million data-driven opportunities for scaling healthcare teams to positively impact patient lives.
Excitingly, we’ve recently started supporting the founders of Flow Neuroscience - who are pioneering a non-invasive brain stimulation treatment for depression - to deploy data insights in their strategy and product development.
One current area of focus for Neuroute is increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion within clinical research, focusing on improving accessibility to minority communities.
To date, our team has facilitated the enrollment of over 1,500 participants in studies focused on minority communities, increasing black minority ethnic participation by over 670% in a challenging study.
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
Being a woman in tech is an important part of my own identity, which is why I feel a personal connection to the #WomenInTech movement.
The movement plays an important role in showing young girls that STEM and tech entrepreneurship can be a career choice for anyone with ambition and passion. This is a narrative that is sadly underdeveloped, as women’s achievements and talents in STEM have been downplayed and dismissed for too long.
However, by sharing our stories, offering advice, and celebrating our collective successes, we can challenge stereotypes, end stigma, and inspire the next generation of female tech leaders. This is why the #WomenInTech movement matters.
What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?
The healthcare industry is only just waking up to the immense power and exciting potential of data. Over the next 5 years, I expect to see more big steps forward in how multiple types of data are collected, processed and utilised to drive breakthroughs in healthcare research, development, and operations.
Clinical trials are one particular area that is on track to benefit hugely from a more data-driven approach. When trials are planned and executed based on the learnings from a vast number of data points, the entire process is faster, safer, and much more likely to be successful. But data without diversity has limited benefits. This is why, over the next 5 years, I also hope to see a shift toward clinical trials that are more representative of the target populations. Ultimately, embracing diversity in the research stages will improve patient access to effective therapies.
What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?
Never assume that you have the perfect solution to any problem, or that you can succeed on your own. To really make a positive difference with technology in the healthcare space, you must take a collaborative, user-focused approach to everything you do. And when it comes to product development: listen, research, build, test, gather feedback, iterate and repeat! Securing investment is tough, and in the current economic climate, it’s only getting tougher. If you want to scale your company quickly, explore alternatives to the traditional VC funding avenue.
Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?
As a young neuroscience student, I was inspired by the work of Baroness Susan Greenfield. Not only has she conducted research into Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, but she also co-founded (and is CEO of) a biotech company. Another source of inspiration for me is Ming Tang, currently the Chief Data and Analytics Officer at NHS England. Like me, she’s a passionate champion for improving the way data is used to power change in health and care.
A third woman who inspired my determination to tackle bias in research is the feminist author Caroline Criado Perez. Her book ‘Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias In a World Designed for Men’ really helped to shine a public spotlight on the dangers of neglecting diversity when gathering and applying data insights.
Find out more about Neuroute on their website.
Follow Neuroute on LinkedIn.
Connect with Livia on LinkedIn.
This interview was conducted by Marija Butkovic, Digital Marketing and PR strategist, founder, and CEO of Women of Wearables. She regularly writes and speaks on topics of wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT, entrepreneurship, and diversity. Follow Marija on Twitter @MarijaButkovic and read her stories for Forbes here.