MyDrugRep Gets $9 Million to Use for Products and Sales

MyDrugRep Inc., a Newport Beach start-up, received $9 million in funding Monday from a group that included electronic-commerce-applications developer and provider Siebel Systems Inc.

Formed in January 2000, privately held MyDrugRep develops software and Web-based marketing presentations for pharmaceutical companies. Monday’s financing was MyDrugRep’s second funding round.

The company has now raised about $14 million and aims to expand its customer base, which includes four of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in sales, chief financial officer David Ramsay said.

He also noted that time-strapped physicians are increasingly turning to the Internet and Web-based applications for managing various aspects of their practices, and that online marketing reduces the need to meet with sales representatives and “allows the physician more control over their daily schedule.”

MyDrugRep said it will use money from the round to boost its sales efforts and expand product development.

The funding group is led by the Sprout Group, now a venture capital unit of Credit Suisse First Boston and an active investor in companies developing electronic-commerce applications for the health-care industry. Hummer Winblad Venture Partners also joined the round.