Richmond said that the decision to set up the new service, known as RPL Data Management, was taken in response to increased industry demand for help in the collection and collation of trial results.
Kjell Pennert, who will lead RPL Data Management, said that in an era of large-scale, global clinical trials and financial uncertainty, “Outsourcing data management has become a practical necessity for many new and existing biotech and pharma companies aiming to operate in a cost and time efficient manner.
“Increasingly one hears of sponsors receiving a disjointed service and this is often due to the fact that one or several components of the data management service is outsourced to various countries, rather than being incorporated under one roof,” he added.
Pennert also said that the new unit’s ethos would be to offer a scalable and adaptable approach to data management, based on the specific needs of the particular trial sponsor involved.
He explained that: “Too often data management providers believe one size fits all. However this is not the case and the impact this belief may have on new drug development could be of huge cost and consequence to the emergence of new medicines.”
Richmond, which is the first and only contract research organisation (CRO) to have received standard and supplementary accreditation from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for two hospital based clinical trials units, will offer data management as either a stand alone service or as an integrated service for trials clients.