What MedPanel does

MedPanel is a privately held healthcare market research firm headquartered in Groton, Massachusetts, with additional operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded around 2000, the company connects pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, CRO, consulting, and patient advocacy organizations with verified physicians, patients, caregivers, and key opinion leaders for clinical and commercial research studies. The core technology platform centers on a credentialed Community of Experts network of 3,500+ physicians across 60+ specialties, with disease-specific panels covering 70+ rare conditions and a maintained Hemophilia Panel of over 30 years. Recruitment is differentiated by primary source verification rather than self-reported credentials, IRB-ready protocol design, and feasibility-first study methodology that maps accessible populations before commitment.

The company's revenue model is project-based professional services spanning qualitative research (in-depth interviews, virtual advisory boards, focus groups), quantitative research (online surveys, segmentation studies), expert and patient recruitment, HEOR and market access evidence generation, and specialized rare disease research including ultra-rare feasibility studies and caregiver dyad research. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, anchored on a content marketing engine (blog, case studies, monthly newsletter, Rare Disease Week participation) that funnels into consultative proposal engagement via the company website. Compliance posture includes HIPAA, GDPR, ISO-20252, and IRB-ready protocols as standard, which functions as a baseline requirement for enterprise healthcare clients.

MedPanel's wholly-owned subsidiary RareDiseaseMatters.com, launched in February 2019, formalizes the firm's rare disease positioning. Global recruitment infrastructure spans the United States, United Kingdom, India, and the Philippines, with active partnerships across patient advocacy organizations including NORD, Global Genes, and the National Hemophilia Foundation, plus hundreds of disease-specific groups and clinical sites. Janet Bernard serves as President and CEO, with William Febbo identified as co-founder. Revenue and detailed financial metrics are not publicly disclosed.

Name

MedPanel

Legal name

MedPanel, Inc.

Website

https://medpanel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MedPanel is a privately held healthcare market research firm that recruits verified physicians, patients, and caregivers for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and CRO clients, with a particular specialization in rare and ultra-rare disease research through its Community of Experts network and RareDiseaseMatters.com subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Market Research

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare Outcomes & Real-World Evidence (RWE) Analytics (BPAHALAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Real-World Evidence (RWE) & HEOR for Development (HLAIALAI), Market Access, Pricing & Reimbursement (Evidence Generation) FSP (HLAGAOAN)

Keywords

• Healthcare market research
• Patient recruitment services
• Expert network panel
• Rare disease research
• Physician panel access

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Healthcare Market Research Services: Full-service market research programs from early feasibility through recruitment, fieldwork, analysis, and insight delivery for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device organizations.
2. Expert and Patient Recruitment: Verified recruitment services for physicians, patients, caregivers, and key opinion leaders for healthcare research studies, including rare and ultra-rare disease populations.
3. Patient Advocacy Group Research Partnerships: Research partnerships with patient advocacy organizations involving verified patient recruitment, registry integration, and longitudinal panel building for rare disease programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

MedPanel is a healthcare market research firm that connects pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device organizations with verified physicians, patients, caregivers, and key opinion leaders for clinical and commercial research studies. The company delivers full-service market research programs spanning qualitative research, quantitative research, expert recruitment, patient recruitment, and HEOR/market access evidence generation, with particular specialization in rare and ultra-rare disease populations. All studies are executed under IRB-ready, HIPAA, GDPR, and ISO-20252 compliant protocols, supported by a verified Community of Experts network of 3,500+ physicians across 60+ specialties.

Product overview

MedPanel is a healthcare market research company offering a platform of integrated research services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device organizations. The core offerings include Expert Recruitment Services and Patient Recruitment Services (for common, rare, and ultra-rare conditions), supported by a verified Community of Experts network of 3,500+ physicians. Service modules include Qualitative Research (in-depth interviews, advisory boards, focus groups), Quantitative Research (surveys, segmentation studies), and HEOR & Market Access Research. Specialized disease-specific offerings include Rare Disease Research, Fabry Disease Market Research, Ultra-Rare Disease Research, Rare Disease HEOR Research, Patient Advocacy Group Research, Rare Disease Research for CROs, Rare Disease Caregiver Studies, and In-Depth Interviews (IDIs). All research protocols are IRB-ready and compliant with HIPAA, GDPR, and ISO-20252 standards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Healthcare Market Research Full-service healthcare market research solutions covering study design, questionnaire development, recruitment, moderation, data analysis, and market insights for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device organizations. Supports qualitative and quantitative research across therapeutics and supportive care with global healthcare professionals and patients.
• Expert Recruitment Services Recruitment services connecting researchers with verified healthcare professionals, specialists, physicians, nurses, and key opinion leaders for interviews, surveys, expert discussions, and research projects.
• Patient Recruitment Services Recruitment services for verified patients and caregivers supporting common, chronic, rare, and ultra-rare condition studies through targeted screening and participant validation.
• Rare Disease Research Specialized research services for rare and ultra-rare diseases including feasibility studies, patient recruitment, qualitative and quantitative research, patient journey studies, and disease-specific insight generation. Covers 70+ rare conditions globally and supports ultra-rare recruitment, caregiver studies, and rare disease HEOR research.
• Community of Experts Verified network of more than 3,500 healthcare professionals across 60+ specialties available for research participation, accessed through the self-serve expert portal at app.medpanel.com. Physicians are credentialed via primary source verification rather than self-reported job titles.
• HEOR & Market Access Research Evidence generation services for market access, reimbursement strategies, payer engagement, and health economics research, including burden-of-disease studies, payer insights, and rare disease HEOR data for HTA submissions.
• Patient Advocacy Group Research Research support involving patient advocacy organizations, community stakeholders, registries, caregivers, and patient-centered engagement, with partnerships spanning organizations such as NORD, Global Genes, the National Hemophilia Foundation, and hundreds of disease-specific groups.
• Hemophilia Panel Specialized hemophilia patient panel maintained over 30 years for research recruitment in bleeding disorders, supported by partnerships with the National Hemophilia Foundation and bleeding disorder community organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,500+ verified physicians across 60+ specialties
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Patient Advocacy Organizations (Various)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirect, trusted relationships with patient advocacy organizations and disease-specific foundations across rare hematologic disorders, ultra-rare metabolic conditions, and other therapeutic areas. Partnership model built on transparency, mutual respect, and shared goal of accelerating research velocity while prioritizing patient welfare. Partners include organizations such as NORD, Global Genes, National Hemophilia Foundation, and hundreds of disease-specific groups.
• National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferenced as a key patient advocacy organization partner for rare disease research recruitment and community access. NORD maintains patient registries, newsletters, and social communities that MedPanel leverages for recruitment outreach.
• Disease-Specific RegistriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCondition-specific registries maintained by advocacy organizations and academic centers. MedPanel works with PAGs to ethically integrate registry access into research programs, enabling precise patient identification and segmentation based on disease severity, time since diagnosis, or specific treatment experience.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)minorOthersMedPanel aligns projects with widely referenced scientific standards including perspective from the NIH, referencing it as a benchmark for research quality standards.
• Clinical Sites and Academic Medical CenterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCenters of excellence that concentrate rare disease patient volume and specialist expertise globally. MedPanel engages these sites and uses physician-to-physician referral to expand recruitment reach beyond panel-only approaches.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Research Partnership: Independent healthcare market research firm offering qualitative and quantitative research plus specialist recruitment for pharma and biotech. Most direct comparable given similar size, niche rare-disease focus, and full-service qualitative/quantitative model.
• Schlesinger Group: Global data collection and qualitative research company with a dedicated healthcare practice running physician and patient recruitment, online surveys, and focus groups for life sciences clients. Comparable service mix and recruitment-led model.

Broad incumbents

• Ipsos Healthcare: Global market research leader with a substantial healthcare division serving pharma and biotech with syndicated and custom studies. Overlaps with MedPanel in evidence generation but operates at much larger scale across many categories beyond rare disease.
• Kantar Health: Established healthcare-focused market research and consulting arm of Kantar offering real-world evidence, HEOR, and patient research. Comparable in evidence generation for pharma/biotech, though broader in scope and larger in scale than MedPanel.
• ZS Associates: Global consulting firm serving pharma and biotech with primary market research, HEOR, and real-world evidence alongside broader commercial strategy work. Comparable buyer base and research-driven evidence products.
• Syneos Health Consulting: Large CRO with a commercial consulting practice offering HEOR, market access, and patient-centered research. Comparable in pharma/biotech evidence work, but MedPanel is a smaller, more specialized alternative.
• M3 Global Research: Physician panel research firm with extensive global physician network serving pharma market research needs. Comparable in recruitment-led model but operates at much larger panel scale across many therapeutic areas.
• IQVIA Real World Evidence: Global leader in real-world evidence and HEOR with deep pharma/biotech relationships. Overlaps most directly with MedPanel's HEOR and rare-disease evidence work, but at vastly larger scale and broader scope.

Emerging players

• ZoomRx: Tech-enabled healthcare market research firm with a large physician panel for survey-based insights to pharma. Comparable physician-recruitment model, but more quantitative/survey-led than MedPanel's full-service qualitative depth.
• Sermo: Online physician community used for market research, surveys, and KOL engagement. Overlaps with MedPanel's verified physician recruitment for pharma studies, but Sermo is platform-led rather than full-service.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/medpanel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/69839

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MedPanel