Sabai Global
Sabai Global is a US-based, AAHRPP-accredited provider of IRB and IBC review services for clinical trials, with particular specialization in cell and gene therapy biosafety. It serves biotech and pharma sponsors, CROs, and academic medical centers through a unified portal-based platform and biosafety consulting.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersMissouri City, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Sabai Global does
Sabai Global is a US-based regulatory and biosafety review services provider focused on clinical trials, with particular depth in cell and gene therapy. The company delivers Institutional Review Board (IRB) services — AAHRPP-accredited ethical review across therapeutic areas — and Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) review services tailored to gene and cell therapy protocols, where biosafety risk assessment is a regulatory requirement. It also offers biosafety consulting, including a proprietary facility-specific emergency response methodology called BioWOPER™, originally co-developed with Sanofi. Clients include biotech and pharmaceutical sponsors, contract research organizations (CROs), and academic medical centers; named enterprise customers include Merck, MedPace, Emmes, CenExel, the University of California-San Diego, and Seattle Children's Hospital.
Sabai's technology stack centers on its MySabai IRB and IBC portals for electronic submission, review, and tracking, combined with deep human expertise (it claims the largest concentration of credentialed biosafety professionals globally). The company was formed through a 2018 founding and grew via the consolidation of three subsidiaries — Castle IRB, CBS IBC, and Shield Consulting — which were unified under the Sabai Global brand in October 2024. A January 2024 acquisition of Alpha Independent Review Board further broadened its IRB footprint. The company is privately held and received a growth investment from Thompson Street Capital Partners (TSCP) in February 2023.
Revenue is generated through three streams: recurring IRB review services (subscription-style engagements), recurring IBC review services for cell and gene therapy trials, and professional services consulting including BioWOPER planning. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting biotech and pharma sponsors and CROs, supported by content marketing (blog, white papers, webinars) and partnerships with industry media such as Xtalks. The company operates from a single headquarters in Chesterfield, Missouri, and serves a US-domestic market.
Sabai Global firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sabai Global
- Legal name
- Sabai Global
- Website
- https://sabaiglobal.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Sabai Global is a US-based, AAHRPP-accredited provider of IRB and IBC review services for clinical trials, with particular specialization in cell and gene therapy biosafety. It serves biotech and pharma sponsors, CROs, and academic medical centers through a unified portal-based platform and biosafety consulting.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sabai Global industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Clinical Research Compliance Services
- NAICS
- Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Specialty Therapeutic-Area CROs (e.g., oncology/rare disease) (HLAGAAAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Clinical CROs (Phase I–IV) (HLAGAAAA), Medical Writing & Regulatory Submission Support CROs (HLAGAAAG), Pharmacovigilance, Risk Management & Medical Affairs CROs (HLAGAAAH), Regulatory Strategy & IND/NDA/BLA Submissions Support (HLAIALAH)
Keywords
Where Sabai Global is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Missouri City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sabai Global business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- IRB Review Services: AAHRPP-accredited ethical review services for clinical research across all therapeutic areas, providing study review, principal investigator assessments, and regulatory advice.
- IBC Review Services: Institutional biosafety committee review services for cell and gene therapy clinical trials, including biosafety guidance, risk assessments, and concierge services.
- Biosafety Consulting: Strategic consulting services for regulatory compliance, emergency preparedness (BioWOPER), and operational support for biotech and pharma clients.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Sabai Global product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sabai Global provides AAHRPP-accredited Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) review services for clinical trials, with deep specialization in cell and gene therapy. The company delivers ethical review, biosafety guidance, risk assessments, and concierge support to biotech and pharmaceutical sponsors, contract research organizations (CROs), and research institutions across the United States.
Product overview
Sabai Global is a unified platform providing AAHRPP-accredited Institutional Review Board (IRB) services and Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) services for clinical trials, particularly specializing in cell and gene therapy. The company operates through its core service offerings: Sabai IRB Services (ethical review for multi-therapeutic research) and Sabai IBC Services (centralized biosafety reviews for cell and gene therapy). Former subsidiaries Castle IRB, CBS IBC, and Shield Consulting were consolidated under the Sabai Global brand in October 2024. The company also acquired Alpha Independent Review Board (January 2024) to expand its regulatory review capabilities. Clients access services through MySabai IRB Portal and MySabai IBC Portal. Additional offerings include BioWOPER™ (biosafety emergency response planning and training) and specialized consulting services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MySabai IRB Portal: Online portal for IRB services access and management
- MySabai IBC Portal
- BioWOPER
- Sabai Compliance
- Sabai IRB Services
- Sabai IBC Services
Products and services
- Sabai IRB Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduced site activation timeline with same-day turnaround on multi-page IBC question lists (less than 2 hours)
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Sabai Global
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Sabai Global technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Sabai Global partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- XtalksminorXtalks, a life sciences webinar platform, hosted a webinar featuring industry leaders from Pfizer and Sabai Global discussing best practices for collaboration between sponsors, CROs, and IRBs to accelerate approval processes.
- Alpha Independent Review Board, LLCcoreSabai Group LLC completed acquisition of Alpha Independent Review Board, LLC, a provider of IRB services for clinical trials. The acquisition expands Sabai's capabilities in biosafety, human research protections, and regulatory review for biotech and pharma clients.
- SanofiminorThe BioWOPER methodology was conceived jointly by team members from Sanofi and Sabai. BioWOPER is a customized biosafety emergency response planning and training methodology developed through collaboration between the two organizations.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sabai Global competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Genezen: Genezen is a gene and cell therapy focused services and consulting company. While primarily a CDMO, it provides biosafety and regulatory support overlapping with Sabai's IBC and BioWOPER services for advanced therapy developers.
- Pearl IRB: Pearl IRB is an independent IRB serving medical device, pharmaceutical, and biologics trials. It is an emerging direct competitor in the same central IRB market niche as Sabai, with a focus on quality and customer service.
Broad incumbents
- IQVIA: IQVIA is a global CRO and clinical research services giant offering full-service trial management. While not an IRB, it competes upstream with integrated offerings that include central IRB/IBC coordination, overlapping with Sabai's CRO-facing GTM.
- Labcorp Drug Development (Fortrea): Fortrea (spun out from Labcorp) is a major CRO offering central lab and clinical development services. It is a broad incumbent in the clinical research services space that touches Sabai's sponsor and CRO customer base.
- ICON plc: ICON is a top global CRO providing clinical trial services to pharma and biotech. Like IQVIA, it competes with Sabai indirectly by bundling ethics and biosafety review coordination into broader CRO service packages for sponsors.
- Charles River Laboratories: Charles River Labs provides a broad suite of research models, preclinical, and clinical support services to biotech and pharma. Its biosafety and safety assessment practices overlap with Sabai's consulting and IBC review offerings for advanced therapy sponsors.
Direct peers
- Sterling IRB: Sterling IRB is an AAHRPP-accredited independent IRB providing central ethics review services for clinical trials. It is a comparable specialty IRB competing for the same biotech and CRO client base.
- Advarra: Advarra is a leading AAHRPP-accredited independent IRB serving pharma, biotech, and CROs across all therapeutic areas. It is the most direct head-to-head competitor to Sabai's IRB and IBC review services, with overlapping enterprise customers and similar GTM.
- WCG (WIRB-Copernicus Group): WCG operates one of the largest independent IRB networks (including WIRB, Copernicus, and Aspire) and offers central IRB services comparable to Sabai. It is a primary direct competitor for multi-site clinical trial ethics review.
- BRANY: BRANY is an AAHRPP-accredited central IRB and IACUC services provider serving academic medical centers and sponsors. It competes with Sabai in IRB services and biosafety committee support, particularly for academic and hybrid sponsor trials.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sabai Global social profiles
Digital presenceSabai Global compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Sabai Global financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sabai Global leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Sabai Global subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Sabai Global funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sabai Global M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sabai Global
What does Sabai Global do?
Sabai Global provides AAHRPP-accredited Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) review services for clinical trials, with deep specialization in cell and gene therapy. The company delivers ethical review, biosafety guidance, risk assessments, and concierge support to biotech and pharmaceutical sponsors, contract research organizations (CROs), and research institutions across the United States.
Is Sabai Global a public or private company?
Sabai Global is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Sabai Global founded?
Sabai Global was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Sabai Global based?
Sabai Global is headquartered in Missouri City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sabai Global make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. IRB Review Services are the primary driver. The others are IBC Review Services and biosafety Consulting.
Who are Sabai Global's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Genezen and Pearl IRB. Broad incumbents are IQVIA, Labcorp Drug Development (Fortrea), ICON plc and Charles River Laboratories. Direct peers are Sterling IRB, Advarra, WCG (WIRB-Copernicus Group) and BRANY.
Does Sabai Global have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sabai Global.
What industry is Sabai Global in?
Sabai Global's product category is Clinical Research Compliance Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAAAL, Specialty Therapeutic-Area CROs (e.g., oncology/rare disease), with a secondary code of HLAGAAAA, Clinical CROs (Phase I–IV). Its NAICS code is 5417 and its SIC code is 8731.