DistillerSR
DistillerSR is a private Ottawa-based software company that provides an AI-enabled platform for automating systematic literature reviews and evidence synthesis, primarily serving pharmaceutical, medical device, CRO, academic, and public sector customers in regulated life sciences workflows.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersOttawa, Canada
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What DistillerSR does
DistillerSR (legal entity DistillerSR Inc., formerly Evidence Partners Inc.) is a private Ottawa-based software company founded in 2008 that builds an AI-enabled platform for automating and managing literature-based research and evidence synthesis. The platform supports systematic reviews, rapid reviews, living reviews, and clinical evaluation reports (CER) used in regulated life sciences workflows, and is built around a configurable workflow engine, an integrated audit trail, and a suite of purpose-built AI capabilities including Smart Evidence Extraction (SEE), AI Re-Rank, AI Classifiers, AI Error Checking, and Agentic AI. The company serves four primary vertical segments: pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, contract research organizations (CROs), and academic and public sector institutions, with named enterprise customers including Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Abbott, AstraZeneca, AbbVie, Gilead, Philips, Boston Scientific, Stryker, NuVasive, Geistlich Pharma, Terumo Medical, and ICON.
The platform's commercial model combines SaaS subscriptions with substantial expert managed services. Academic and individual tiers are priced on a published self-service basis (Student at $19.95/month, Faculty at $94/year, Research Project at $194/year), while corporate and government pricing is quote-based and typically multi-year with professional services, API integration, BI integration, data governance, and audit assistance included. The company is backed by a $20 million growth financing round closed in August 2022, led by Thomvest Ventures with participation from Pender Ventures and Export Development Canada, and reports 300+ customers with claimed penetration of 80% among both top medical device and top pharmaceutical companies, plus 75+ academic institutions and 40+ public sector organizations. The platform manages 24 million references and integrates with Elsevier Embase, PubMed, RightFind, Article Galaxy, EBSCO, OVID, Oracle Argus, Oracle Safety One Intake, Power BI, and Tableau.
DistillerSR firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DistillerSR
- Legal name
- DistillerSR Inc.
- Website
- https://distillersr.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- DistillerSR is a private Ottawa-based software company that provides an AI-enabled platform for automating systematic literature reviews and evidence synthesis, primarily serving pharmaceutical, medical device, CRO, academic, and public sector customers in regulated life sciences workflows.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DistillerSR industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Literature Review Automation Software
- NAICS
- Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Regulatory Submissions & Clinical Content Management (eCTD/Publishing) (HLACAOAN)
Keywords
Where DistillerSR is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ottawa
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
DistillerSR business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- SaaS Platform Subscription: Cloud-based software-as-a-service platform with subscription pricing. Includes tiered plans for academic/student, faculty, research project, departmental, and institutional levels. Enterprise corporate and government pricing is quote-based.
- Expert Managed Services: Professional services including unlimited project and report configuration, AI readiness assessment, AI classifiers configuration, evidence reuse implementation, data governance, API integration, BI integration and data visualization, data migration, and audit assistance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Student Plan - $19.95/month (Three subscriptions for the price of one) |
| Subscription | Annual | Faculty Plan - $94/year |
| Subscription | Annual | Research Project Plan - $194 |
| Subscription | Annual | Departmental Plan - Custom pricing |
| Subscription | Annual | Institutional Plan - Custom pricing |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Corporate & Government - Quote-based |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
DistillerSR product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DistillerSR builds an AI-enabled, cloud-based SaaS platform that automates the conduct and management of systematic literature reviews and evidence-based research. The platform replaces manual, spreadsheet-based workflows with configurable, audit-ready processes for reference screening, data extraction, deduplication, and reporting, and is enhanced by purpose-built generative AI for evidence extraction and prioritization. Customers include pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, contract research organizations, academic institutions, and government/NGO bodies that need traceable, regulatory-grade literature reviews for submissions such as CERs, PSURs, HEOR/HTA dossiers, and clinical practice guidelines.
Product overview
DistillerSR is an AI-enabled literature review and evidence management platform that offers a unified product portfolio consisting of the core DistillerSR platform plus specialized modules and add-on capabilities. The core DistillerSR platform automates literature-based research and surveillance with configurable workflows, audit trails, and AI-powered features. Supporting modules include CuratorCR for evidence reuse and repository management, DistillerSR LitConnect for auto-alert database integration, and DistillerSR AI which encompasses Smart Evidence Extraction (SEE), AI Re-Rank, AI Classifiers, AI Error Checking, and Agentic AI capabilities. Expert Managed Services provide professional configuration, training, and integration support. The platform serves academic institutions, medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies, and public sector organizations with tiered pricing from student subscriptions to institutional enterprise plans.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CuratorCR: Evidence management module that enables centralized evidence access, copyright management, and data reuse across the organization.
Products and services
- DistillerSR Platform The core AI-enabled, cloud-based evidence management platform that automates the conduct and management of literature-based research and surveillance. Supports systematic reviews, rapid reviews, living reviews, and CER literature reviews with configurable workflows, integrated audit trail, AI-powered screening and data extraction, and capacity for over 700,000 references per project. Sold to pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, CROs, academic institutions, and public sector/NGO organizations via enterprise subscriptions and self-service academic plans.
- CuratorCR Evidence Management Evidence reuse module that creates a centralized repository of literature evidence and automatically identifies previously extracted data to ensure teams avoid extracting the same information repeatedly. Automates evidence management, accelerates research, cuts costs, and streamlines submissions for pharmaceutical, medical device, and academic organizations managing large evidence bases.
- DistillerSR AI AI-powered capability suite for the DistillerSR platform that includes Smart Evidence Extraction (SEE) for extracting text and table data, AI Re-Rank for prioritizing relevant references, AI Classifiers for auto-labeling by study design or PICO, AI Error Checking for exclusion-pattern anomaly detection, and Agentic AI for drafting regulatory reports using validated evidence. Reduces screening time by up to 70% and is offered as an integrated capability for enterprise customers.
- DistillerSR LitConnect Auto-alert integration module that connects DistillerSR projects to prominent reference databases (EBSCO, OVID, PubMed) to automatically import new articles matching project search criteria. Eliminates the need for manual update searches at the end of reviews and reruns for living reviews, and is included with the Research Project subscription tier and above.
- Expert Managed Services Professional services engagement where DistillerSR experts manage the platform on behalf of customers, including unlimited project and report configuration, AI readiness assessment, AI classifiers configuration, evidence reuse enablement, data governance, API integration, BI integration and data visualization, data migration, and audit assistance. Sold alongside enterprise subscriptions to reduce cost and risk of dedicated internal administration.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduces literature review screening time by up to 70%
- +10 more outcomes
Companies that use DistillerSR
Customer profileNamed customers23 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
DistillerSR technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
AI capability9 records
Feature7 records
DistillerSR partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Elsevier (Embase)coreCollaboration to integrate Elsevier's Embase database with DistillerSR's evidence management platform, enabling better access through Embase's API. Aims to accelerate evidence synthesis, improve data quality, and reduce manual processes for users in clinical research and regulatory submissions.
- Philips Medical SystemscoreCollaborator in Eureka-ITEA research consortium, a six-country international R&D network representing 45 countries. Contributing to development of purpose-built GenAI for literature evidence extraction.
- University of Leiden Medical CentercoreCollaborator in Eureka-ITEA research consortium, contributing to international R&D network for AI-enabled literature review technology development.
- Eureka-ITEA Research ConsortiumcoreThree-year international R&D consortium with six-country network representing 45 countries. Milestone launch of Smart Evidence Extraction (SEE) with 8.3 percentage point improvement on LitQA benchmark. Includes collaborators from industry and academia.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
DistillerSR competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Covidence: Covidence is a leading SaaS platform for systematic literature reviews, primarily serving academic and Cochrane-style reviews. It is the closest direct competitor to DistillerSR in the literature review automation category, though DistillerSR is more weighted toward regulated enterprise customers.
- Rayyan: Rayyan provides AI-assisted screening and systematic review software used widely in academic and health research. Comparable to DistillerSR's screening and AI classifier capabilities, though Rayyan's strengths are in free/PLG adoption while DistillerSR leads in regulated enterprise deployments.
- EPPI-Reviewer: EPPI-Reviewer is a web-based systematic review tool developed at UCL. It overlaps with DistillerSR in academic systematic review workflows and is often compared in health technology assessment and Cochrane reviews.
Emerging players
- Nested Knowledge: Nested Knowledge offers an integrated platform for systematic literature reviews, evidence mapping, and clinical trial visualization. It competes with DistillerSR in HEOR and HTA workflows, though with a smaller installed base.
- Trial Library: Trial Library focuses on clinical trial transparency and evidence dissemination tooling. It is an emerging player that addresses adjacent evidence-management workflows used by pharma sponsors, with partial overlap to DistillerSR's regulatory reporting use cases.
Broad incumbents
- Clarivate: Clarivate operates Cortellis and a broad suite of life sciences intelligence, regulatory, and evidence-synthesis offerings. It is a broad incumbent that competes with DistillerSR in HEOR and regulatory submission support, though its portfolio extends well beyond literature review automation.
- Elsevier: Elsevier owns Embase and a range of life sciences content and analytics products. As a content and tooling incumbent, Elsevier both partners with DistillerSR (Embase integration) and competes with broader workflow offerings to pharma customers.
- IQVIA: IQVIA is the largest life sciences services and data platform, with HEOR, RWE, and evidence-synthesis capabilities. It is a broad incumbent that competes with DistillerSR for the same pharma wallet, particularly in HEOR and HTA submissions.
- Veeva Systems: Veeva's Vault platform manages regulatory submissions, clinical content, and quality for life sciences. It overlaps with DistillerSR in regulated document and submission workflows, though Vault is a broader content/regulatory suite rather than a literature review specialist.
Regional players
- CMAC (previously Systematic Review Solutions): CMAC provides training and tooling around systematic reviews primarily in academic and clinical guideline contexts. Regional/instructional overlap with DistillerSR's academic customer base, though it is less focused on regulated enterprise deployments.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
DistillerSR social profiles
Digital presenceDistillerSR compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
DistillerSR financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DistillerSR leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
DistillerSR funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DistillerSR M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about DistillerSR
What does DistillerSR do?
DistillerSR builds an AI-enabled, cloud-based SaaS platform that automates the conduct and management of systematic literature reviews and evidence-based research. The platform replaces manual, spreadsheet-based workflows with configurable, audit-ready processes for reference screening, data extraction, deduplication, and reporting, and is enhanced by purpose-built generative AI for evidence extraction and prioritization. Customers include pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, contract research organizations, academic institutions, and government/NGO bodies that need traceable, regulatory-grade literature reviews for submissions such as CERs, PSURs, HEOR/HTA dossiers, and clinical practice guidelines.
Is DistillerSR a public or private company?
DistillerSR is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was DistillerSR founded?
DistillerSR was founded in 2008. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is DistillerSR based?
DistillerSR is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, in the North America region.
How does DistillerSR make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. SaaS Platform Subscription is the primary driver. The others are expert Managed Services.
Who are DistillerSR's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Covidence, Rayyan and EPPI-Reviewer. Emerging players are Nested Knowledge and Trial Library. Broad incumbents are Clarivate, Elsevier, IQVIA and Veeva Systems. CMAC (previously Systematic Review Solutions) is listed as a regional player.
Does DistillerSR have an API?
Yes. DistillerSR offers a public API for integrating literature review data with third-party applications and databases. The API enables synchronization of literature review data seamlessly into external applications, supporting analytics, data-driven decisions, visualizations, and more. API integration is available as part of managed services and is specifically mentioned for synchronization with safety databases (Oracle Safety One Intake and Oracle Argus) for processing adverse events identified in literature into safety cases.
What industry is DistillerSR in?
DistillerSR's product category is Literature Review Automation Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLACAOAN, Regulatory Submissions & Clinical Content Management (eCTD/Publishing). Its NAICS code is 5417 and its SIC code is 7372.