The new offices, the first of several CRA plans to open in the area this year, will provide management and research services to pharma firms and contract research organizations (CROs).
CEO Mark Hanley said: “Healthcare reform is calling for effectiveness and comparative studies to be performed on behalf of a range of medications. This opens the doors for additional clinical trials to be conducted to help ensure quality care, safety and cost containment across the board”
He added that: “Our model positions CRA’s own research staff and coordinators right in the heart of the physician’s office, which helps cultivates the enrollment of reliable, qualified subjects into clinical trials and ensures better compliance, due to the patient’s close proximity to the physicians.”
Therapeutic focus
Tempe, Arizona-based CRA’s approach is to focus on key therapeutic areas, namely conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes and COPD, by forging partnerships with specialist physicians.
This was the second driver for the opening of the new offices according to COO David Bruggeman, who described the Colorado Springs region as an important and growing market for CRA.
He explained that the firm already has seventeen studies underway in the area and added that: “This expansion presented us with an opportunity to partner with nearly 100 physicians, which compromise the largest group in the area. We are excited about the relationship and the trials we are bringing the community.”
CRA named Monica Garcia as its new regional manager for the region.
The new offices continue the US expansion efforts CRA undertook last year which, most recently, saw it open eight new office in Las Vegas. The move also fits with the strategy that has seen it build a network of 23 sites across 12 geographic markets in the US since 2007
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