How To Select A CRO With The Right Culture

Of all the tasks that are handled by executives in clinical operations, few bring as much anxiety and stress as the selection of a CRO partner. Make the right choice and your trial will be a breeze. Make the wrong choice and your trial can go off the rails and require the necessary but hated task of CRO replacement.

In this Clinical Leader Live discussion, two industry veterans join Clinical Leader chief editor Ed Miseta to share tips and insights on successful CRO selection. Audrey Rossow, senior director of clinical operations for Pulmatrix, and Tommy Lee, VP of clinical operations for TissueTech, share their CRO selection insights from over 40 years in the industry. In this segment, Rossow and Lee discuss identifying a good CRO and determining their culture.

View the full presentation here.

Ed Miseta: Unfortunately, we do not have an Angie’s List for CROs. You can look at companies that have won awards in the past. And, obviously, if you were looking at a CRO and trying to decide if they will be a good fit for you then another option is talking to folks within your company to see who might have worked with them. Maybe even ask your network connections. But other than that, are there other ways that you have of judging a CRO and deciding if they're a right fit for you before entering into an agreement?

Tommy Lee: We receive a lot of business development outreach from multiple vendors, including CROs, on a constant basis. There are so many providers out there; it's really hard to narrow it down to a few. One key to selection is your network. As big as this industry is, when you really start digging in, you can usually connect with people through LinkedIn or other social media to discuss previous projects. If you have a strong KOL or investigator whose experience you trust, that helps. I value that because at the end of the day, the CEOs are going to be engaging with the sites in representing your company and you want them to put a good foot forward.

Please click on the video above to see the rest of this interview.