# Derk Arts

> Derk Arts is a Dutch physician-turned-entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Castor, a clinical-trial software company he started in 2012 after coding the first version of its Electronic Data Capture platform himself. Trained as a medical doctor and epidemiologist with a PhD, he built Castor to make clinical research more inclusive, patient-centric, and data-driven. The platform now supports thousands of trials across roughly 90 countries and was used by the World Health Organization for its Solidarity Trial. Castor has raised more than $60 million, including a $45 million Series B in 2021, and Arts is a recognized voice on decentralized trials, eConsent, and the responsible use of AI in research.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Castor
- **Organizations:** Castor (Castor EDC)
- **Nationality:** Dutch
- **Education:** MD (Doctor of Medicine), Medical school (Netherlands), PhD (epidemiology / medical informatics), University (Netherlands)
- **Known for:** Founded and built Castor, a clinical-trial software company used by researchers in roughly 90 countries., Wrote the first version of the Castor EDC platform himself., Castor's technology supported the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Trial.

## Career timeline

- **~2011** — Graduates as a medical doctor and epidemiologist; finds no affordable, easy tool for research data management.
- **2012** — Founds Castor and develops the first version of Castor EDC himself.
- **2020** — Castor's platform is used by the World Health Organization for its COVID-19 Solidarity Trial.
- **2021** — Raises a $45M Series B co-led by Eight Roads Ventures and F-Prime Capital, bringing total funding to about $65M.
- **2022** — Featured in an executive interview at Fierce JPM Week discussing decentralized clinical trials.
- **2023-2024** — Champions eConsent and generative-AI approaches to improve patient consent and comprehension.

## Achievements

- Founded and built Castor, a clinical-trial software company used by researchers in roughly 90 countries.
- Wrote the first version of the Castor EDC platform himself.
- Castor's technology supported the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Trial.
- Raised more than $60M in venture funding, including a $45M Series B in 2021.
- Grew Castor to support thousands of clinical trials worldwide.
- Recognized thought leader on decentralized clinical trials, eConsent and AI in research.

## Latest updates

- **2024-12** — Shared a year-in-review reflection on 2024 and his vision for 2025 as Castor CEO.
- **2023-09** — Highlighted Castor's multi-year work building an eConsent platform for clinical research.

## Links

- Website: https://www.castoredc.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/derkarts
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/derkarts
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6xMa0Ne9iE

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/derk-arts
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-20