CRF Bracket sees record new business, eyes future partnerships to build on growth

12-Mar-2019 - Last updated on 12-Mar-2019 at 15:13 GMT

(Image: Getty/Tzido)

CRF Bracket closes its first full quarter as a combined entity with more than a 20% increase in new clinical trial business – and will “aggressively look for partners” from its current and future customers, says CEO.

This growth outpaced either’s individual performance as a standalone entity throughout last year, according to the company, which was formed in 2018 by the merger of CRF Health and Bracket.

Genstar Capital, the private equity firm behind Bracket, purchased CRF Health in a deal that created a combined organization with more than 1,500 employees globally.

CRF Bracket CEO Mike Nolte said integration has gone better than anticipated. From the beginning, the goal was “to scale and build momentum while improving service and responsiveness” – and minimizing customer disruption.

“We met that goal – at least so far – because we made quick decisions, we were transparent, and we sought to minimize complexity,” Nolte told us.

Though like any business, customer challenges arise. Still, Nolte said the merger has largely worked to solve many of these and “mostly avoided creating new ones.”

Moving forward, Nolte said CRF Bracket will “aggressively look for partners” from its current and future customers. “Our success is wholly built on their insight,” he added.

“Our strategy is targeted at innovating to serve patients and help our families and communities live longer, healthier, more meaningful lives,” said Nolte. “We will pursue that goal irrespective of whether we build, partner or invest in M&A to get there.”

Ongoing market transformation

The combined company’s solutions include electronic clinical outcome assessments (eCOAs), eConsent, patient engagement, interactive response technology (IRT), clinical supply forecasting and management, and endpoint quality services, among others.

“We are at the precipice of an extraordinary moment in the application of software to clinical research, and our pipeline and backlog demonstrate the momentum of our business and the momentum of an ongoing transformation in the market,” said Nolte.

“This is a remarkable opportunity to demonstrate how the patient, researcher, and supply chain can work in tandem to change the nature of how trials are conducted, and it drives our people and our business.”

Clear to the company, its customers, and the broader industry, is the potential of data and software to change the way in which research is conducted, he added, “It’s up to us to ensure we help follow through on that potential.”