Connecticut tech firm ranks in top 15 of Deloitte’s Fast 500
STAMFORD — Cara Therapeutics, which recently gained federal approval for its first drug, ranks No. 14 in professional-services firm Deloitte’s latest standings of the fastest-growing technology firms in North America.
For the third-straight year, Stamford-based Cara made the North America Technology Fast 500, whose 2021 edition was released Wednesday. Companies were ranked on their percentage revenue growth in the past three years, and Cara registered an increase of 14,728 percent between 2017 and 2020. Last year, Cara ranked No. 9, with 23,000 percent growth in the previous three years.
Cara has operated as a publicly traded company since 2014, and it recorded about $135 million in revenues in 2020. Nearly all of that income came from license and “milestone” fees.
“We’re thrilled to be recognized by Deloitte as one of the fastest-growing companies in North America . ... We’re especially pleased to be ranked No. 2 among companies in the tri-state area,” Cara CEO and President Christopher Posner said in a statement. “It’s a testament to Cara’s strong revenue growth over the past several years as we lead the development and commercialization of novel therapies designed to alleviate (itching condition) pruritus, including Korsuva injection, which was approved by the FDA earlier this year.”
Cara officials describe Korsuva injection as the first and only therapy approved by the FDA for pruritus associated with chronic kidney disease in adults undergoing hemodialysis. The company anticipates the drug’s promotional launch in the U.S. in the first half of 2022.
Shelton-based 3Gtms, a provider of a transportation-management system and advanced multi-carrier shipping software, was the other Connecticut firm to make this year’s list. As a newcomer to the Fast 500, it ranked No. 452, with revenue growth of 246 percent.
In 2020, Cara and three other Connecticut-based companies made the Fast 500.
“We congratulate and celebrate our Connecticut winners not only for their amazing success but for exemplifying the kind of companies that we can grow and sustain in this region,” Heather Ziegler, Deloitte’s Stamford managing partner, said in a statement. “Our very strong anchor of existing companies and professional talent, coupled with our quality of life, higher education and access to major markets and capital give us a set of advantages that promote economic strength, diversity and resiliency.”
Now in its 27th year, the Fast 500 program is open to companies in sectors including biotechnology, information technology, financial technology, energy technology, media and telecommunications.
Overall, this year’s winners achieved revenue growth ranging from 212 percent to 87,037 percent over the three-year time frame, with a median rate of 521 percent.
California’s Silicon Valley led the regional representation with 21 percent of this year's Fast 500 companies. The New York metropolitan area was represented by 12 percent of the firms, followed by New England with 8 percent and greater Los Angeles with 6 percent. Greater Washington, D.C., Washington state and Texas each accounted for 5 percent.
Irvine, Calif.-based medical-technology company Axonics ranked No. 1, with growth of 87,037 percent. It focuses on the development and commercialization of therapies for patients with incontinence.
The other companies in the Top 10 are all in the software/software-as-aservice or biotechnology/ pharmaceutical industries.