Science 37 alternatives for teams that need the technology without the services wrapper
Science 37 sells a virtual site service. If you want the DCT technology without the managed services wrapper, that's where WeGuide fits. A regulatory grade platform with eCOA, eConsent, wearables, and a whitelabel participant app, your coordinators running the study, and configuration in two to four weeks.
No pressure, no hard sell. A 30 minute walkthrough with a research colleague who's built platforms like yours.
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Where WeGuide differs
Whitelabel participant mobile apps
Native wearable integration
No-code programme builder
Used by leading research and medical institutes.
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Why research teams look for a Science 37 alternative
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The short version
Science 37's product and commercial model were both built around a specific shape of study: pharma-sponsored DCTs where the virtual site network, mobile nurses, tele-visit coordination, community clinic partnerships, is a load-bearing part of the protocol. For studies where participants need regular in-home visits, that bundle is genuinely useful. For everything else, it's services you pay for and don't use.
Why teams look elsewhere
The fit gap shows up in a few predictable places. Mid-market sponsors can't justify bundled services pricing for studies that don't need a nurse network. Academic research teams want to configure the platform themselves rather than route every change through a services-led programme team. Registries, employee wellbeing, population health, and citizen science all sit outside Science 37's DCT-only scope. And since the eMed acquisition in 2024, some sponsors have reported uncertainty about where the Science 37 roadmap is heading.
WeGuide was built for the teams that want DCT architecture (eCOA, eConsent, whitelabel app, telehealth, wearables, remote monitoring) as a configurable platform rather than a services engagement. You keep the decentralised trial design and lose the mobile-nurse dependency, with broader use case coverage on the same system if your research portfolio includes registries, population health, or engagement programmes.
Key differences between WeGuide and Science 37
For teams that need DCT architecture without a services wrapper, here's what changes when you move to WeGuide.
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Whitelabel participant mobile apps
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Native wearable integration
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No-code programme builder
Full comparison: WeGuide vs Science 37
Top alternatives to Science 37 in 2026
Here's the shortlist of platforms most teams evaluate when they're looking at alternatives to Science 37.
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Where WeGuide goes further
For teams that want the participant side of a study in one platform, here's what changes when you move to WeGuide.
Technology-first, without the services wrapper
Science 37's commercial model bundles the platform with virtual site services. For studies that need the Metasite network, that's value. For studies that don't, it's services you pay for and don't use. WeGuide is a pure platform, licensed on project terms, with every module (eCOA, eConsent, registry, telehealth, wearables, analytics) included and no services component bundled in. Sponsors coordinate in-person visits through their existing site network or partner nursing services; WeGuide handles the digital layer end to end.
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Global deployment without a mobile-nurse dependency
WeGuide runs studies in Australia, the UK, the US, Europe, and Asia without depending on a physical site network. The international BRACE Trial ran with thousands of participants across several countries, using WeGuide's platform for eCOA, eConsent, engagement, and data capture alongside in person vaccination and blood collection. For geographies where Science 37's Metasite coverage is thin, or where the protocol is fully remote, WeGuide's platform-only model scales differently.
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Broader use cases beyond DCTs
Science 37's product scope is decentralised trials, specifically the kind that need a virtual site network. WeGuide covers a wider set of research use cases: patient registries (GenV: about 124,000 people), population health, employee wellbeing, citizen science, paediatric cardiac monitoring (Beat2Beat), and multilingual community health studies (INHERIT). If your programme runs more than traditional pharma DCTs, a single platform across the portfolio changes the cost and operational picture.
Whitelabel mobile apps under your brand
Science 37's participant-facing experience sits under the Science 37 product brand. WeGuide ships native iOS and Android apps fully branded under your organisation's name and identity. For registries, sponsor-branded studies, and patient engagement programmes where the participant relationship matters long-term, this changes how the study feels to the participant.
Deploy in weeks with a no-code programme builder
The Form Builder lets research teams configure studies directly, including eCOA instruments, consent flows, branching logic, and engagement content, without routing every change through a services team. For mid-market sponsors and academic research teams, that's the difference between a study that launches this quarter and one that waits on a programme manager's roadmap. See the Form Builder →
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Native wearable integration
Garmin, Apple Health, Health Connect and Fitbit Air integrations are built into WeGuide directly. Science 37 supports wearables through partner integrations, which works but adds a procurement and integration layer. For studies where sensor data is central to the protocol, native integration matters. See supported wearable devices →
Independent roadmap
Science 37 was acquired by eMed in 2024, and some sponsors have reported uncertainty about where the product is headed under the new ownership. WeGuide's roadmap is independently set by the product team alongside our research delivery partners. For teams that care about product continuity across a multi-year study, that independence is worth weighing.
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Australian data residency and TGA registration
WeGuide is TGA registered Class I medical device software with Australian data residency. For APAC research, especially Australian investigator-led studies and sponsor programmes that need local hosting, that's a meaningful differentiator that global DCT platforms can't match without a partner arrangement.
Built for regulated research
Every WeGuide study runs on our managed infrastructure. Your IT team doesn't patch servers, manage backups, or run disaster recovery drills.
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TGA Registered
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ISO 27001
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Data Hosted in Australia
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GDPR Compliant
Biometric Security
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256-bit AES Encryption
Where Science 37 excels
The Metasite virtual site network. This is the differentiator. Science 37 runs a network of mobile nurses, community clinics, and tele-visit infrastructure that sponsors can book as a managed service. For a DCT where participants need regular in-home visits, physical sample collection, or local clinic access in geographies where the sponsor doesn't have a site footprint, this is a capability no pure technology platform offers. If your protocol depends on it, Science 37's the right choice.
DCT pioneer with sponsor relationships. Science 37 has been running decentralised trials with pharma sponsors since well before DCT was a category name. That track record, plus the Phase II and III experience, creates real institutional trust with sponsor therapeutic area teams who've already worked with the platform.
End-to-end delivery. For sponsors who want a single vendor handling the technology, the virtual site operations, and the patient logistics as one programme, Science 37's integrated model removes a coordination layer. That's a genuine operational benefit if your internal team doesn't have the capacity to manage multiple vendors.
Public-company history and industry recognition. Science 37 has been named in analyst reports, peer-reviewed publications, and industry rankings across multiple years. For sponsors whose procurement or governance processes weigh analyst coverage, that history carries weight.
If your study needs the Metasite network, and the services wrapper is what makes the trial possible rather than an extra cost, Science 37 is the defensible choice. We'd rather say that honestly than oversell what WeGuide does.
WeGuide works alongside your existing site network
If your study needs occasional in-person visits but doesn't need a full Metasite virtual site network, WeGuide runs the digital layer (eCOA, eConsent, engagement, wearables, telehealth) while your existing investigator sites or a partner nursing service handles the physical touchpoints. Our Integration Engine connects through APIs, so visit schedules, sample tracking, and participant status stay in sync across systems. Teams typically combine this with their existing EDC and site coordination tools.
How the switch works
For teams moving from Science 37 to WeGuide, or running WeGuide alongside Science 37 for studies that don't need the Metasite network, here's how onboarding typically plays out.
Discovery Call
A 30-minute conversation with one of our research delivery team. We look at your protocol, your current Science 37 setup, and which parts of the services wrapper you actually need. No sales pitch.
Study Configuration
Our team works alongside yours to configure the study in WeGuide. Typical timeline: two to four weeks. Mid-study migrations from Science 37 typically plan for around six weeks of transition, with data export via the Integration Engine.
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Participant Onboarding
The whitelabel app goes live. Your research coordinators invite participants, who download the app under your organisation's brand. eCOA instruments, consent flows, and engagement templates are ready.
Ongoing Support
You get a named research delivery contact, not a ticketing queue. We stay involved for the life of the study.
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Case studies: research teams running DCTs without a services wrapper
BRACE Trial (Murdoch Children's Research Institute)
An international randomised controlled trial studying whether the BCG vaccine could reduce COVID-19 symptom severity in healthcare workers, run with Murdoch Children's Research Institute across several countries with thousands of participants. It was a hybrid trial, with in person vaccination and blood collection. The study needed decentralised architecture and global reach, without a Metasite-style virtual site network, and WeGuide delivered the digital layer while investigator sites handled in-person visits.
GenV (Generation Victoria)
A population health study following roughly 124,000 Victorians (about 50,000 children from birth and 74,000 parents). Longitudinal registry work at this scale sits outside Science 37's DCT focused scope. The whitelabel family facing app is the reason retention has held across multiple years.
FSHD Global
A longitudinal patient registry for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, combining patient reported outcomes with wearable integration. Participants report from home on their own phones, devices sync in the background, and the registry keeps a continuous picture of a rare disease over time instead of a snapshot at each clinic visit.
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Questions
Straight answers on how WeGuide compares to Science 37, what migration looks like, and when staying on Science 37 is the right call.
Contact usIs WeGuide a full replacement for Science 37?
Not in every case, and we'll tell you that honestly. Science 37's Metasite virtual site network, with mobile nurses, community clinics, and tele-visit infrastructure delivered as a managed service, is genuinely unique and valuable for trials that need physical presence at participants' homes or in local communities. If your protocol depends on a virtual site network, Science 37 (or their successor model post-eMed) is the right choice. WeGuide is the right choice when you need DCT architecture (eCOA, eConsent, telehealth, wearables, whitelabel app, engagement) as a configurable technology platform, and your in-person visits can be handled through your existing site network or a partner nursing service.
Does WeGuide do decentralised clinical trials?
Yes. Decentralised trial architecture is a core WeGuide use case. Telehealth, eConsent, remote monitoring, eCOA, whitelabel participant apps, wearables, and engagement are all built in. The BRACE Trial shows how this works in a hybrid design: an international trial with thousands of participants across several countries, where the digital layer ran alongside in person vaccination and blood collection. The difference from Science 37 is that WeGuide runs the digital layer and leaves physical site operations to your existing network, rather than bundling a virtual site service alongside the software.
How does WeGuide handle in person visits that used to require a Science 37 mobile nurse?
We coordinate with the sponsor's existing site network or with partner nursing services. WeGuide doesn't operate its own nurse network. For studies that need predictable mobile nurse coverage at scale, Science 37's Metasite model or a dedicated nursing partner is a better architectural fit than WeGuide on its own.
How does pricing compare?
Science 37 typically combines the platform with virtual site services in project-based pricing, which means you're paying for both the technology and the services together. WeGuide is technology-only project pricing with every module included in the core licence. For studies that don't need the full Metasite services wrapper, WeGuide is typically lower-cost; for studies that do need the network, a direct pricing comparison is harder because you'd be comparing different scopes.
What's the status of Science 37 post-eMed acquisition?
Science 37 was acquired by eMed in 2024. The combined entity's roadmap and product continuity have shifted, and some sponsors have reported uncertainty about where the Science 37 platform is heading under the new ownership structure. WeGuide's product roadmap is independently set by our product team alongside research delivery partners, and the platform is in continuous development.
Can we migrate from Science 37 to WeGuide mid-study?
Possible, with planning. Mid study migrations typically need around six weeks for data export via the Integration Engine, regulatory documentation alignment, and participant re onboarding into the new whitelabel app. We'd walk through the specifics of your study on a discovery call before committing to a timeline; some protocols (especially those mid enrolment in a late stage Phase III) are genuinely harder to migrate than others.
Does WeGuide support the kinds of trials Science 37 is known for?
For decentralised trials where the Metasite virtual site network is load-bearing, no. For decentralised trials where the digital layer (eCOA, eConsent, telehealth, wearables, engagement) is the critical component and in person touchpoints are handled through existing site networks, yes, and this is the most common shape of study we run.
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