Arthur D. Little & Vega IT launch Axceler8 venture

Arthur D. Little and Vega IT have created a new joint venture, Axceler8 Solutions, to develop and run digital and artificial intelligence products for business process automation. Each company holds a 50% stake in the venture. They set it up after a year of working together on digital projects.

Axceler8 Solutions will focus on software that targets complex operational processes in large organisations. They plan an international rollout that relies on consulting, commercial, and technology services from both sides.

First product launched

The venture's first product, Axceler8 Rx, is already live. It is a cloud-based application aimed at pharmaceutical sponsors. It supports clinical trial design and planning.

Axceler8 Rx focuses on decisions around country and site selection. It also runs simulations for patient enrolment in drug trials.

The platform combines Arthur D. Little's proprietary clinical trial intellectual property with its domain expertise in life sciences. It uses Vega IT's software engineering and its experience with healthcare-focused digital products.

Initial modules in Axceler8 Rx cover trial site selection and site activation. They also include enrolment forecasting and a dashboard for monitoring trial progress.

The system offers a single view of clinical trial status across geographies and phases. It aggregates operational data from different trial locations for sponsors and their partners.

Modular platform

Axceler8 Rx runs on a modular architecture. The partners describe this as sector-agnostic. The design allows the venture to build additional applications on the same core platform. The companies expect this to reduce development time for future products in other industries.

The platform operates in the cloud and supports multiple modules and use cases. It can host separate applications that share underlying components, data structures and security controls.

Arthur D. Little will provide consulting on business process design and industry requirements. Vega IT will lead on software engineering, integration and ongoing operations.

The joint venture will also handle systems integration and managed services for clients that adopt Axceler8 Rx and future applications. It plans to work with existing technology stacks within pharmaceutical and other organisations' broader strategies.

Arthur D. Little has positioned the venture within its broader "Open Consulting" strategy. The firm has pursued a model that links advisory work with technology-based solutions through partnerships.

Ignacio Garcia Alves, Chairman and CEO at Arthur D. Little, said the venture builds on previous joint work with Vega IT.

"Axceler8 Solutions represents the next step in our partnership with Vega IT, one that turns powerful ideas into high-performance platforms. Together, we are bringing speed, scale, and intelligence to sectors that need it most, starting with life sciences."

Vega IT has more than 900 staff across development centres in southeastern Europe and offices in New York, London and Riyadh. It focuses on digital product development and systems integration across industries, including healthcare, finance, insurance and retail.

The partners expect Axceler8 Solutions to serve clients in multiple sectors beyond life sciences once additional products are ready.

Sasa Popovic, CEO of Vega IT, adds, "Axceler8 Solutions is built for scale, speed, and impact. Our goal is to turn complexity into clarity for our clients, delivering smart, sector-ready solutions through a flexible, reusable platform."

Global rollout plans

Axceler8 Solutions will target clients in Europe, North America and the Middle East. It will draw on Arthur D. Little's presence in major business centres and Vega IT's existing customer relationships.

The companies plan a phased rollout of Axceler8 Rx. They will refine the product based on early client use and regulatory requirements in key markets.

The joint venture expects demand from pharmaceutical companies that manage multinational clinical trials. It will also target contract research organisations for sponsors.

Over time, the partners intend to extend the platform beyond clinical trials. They are exploring other use cases that apply AI and automation to complex decision-making in different sectors.

Philippe Mauchard, Chief Bridge Officer at Arthur D. Little, concludes, "This joint venture is an important milestone in our Open Consulting strategy, strengthening our ability to equip clients for faster impact in AI and digital, through a set of complementary partnerships with leading organisations such as Vega IT."