How to Choose a CRO Company

How To Choose a CRO Company?

According to a 2019 market research report published by Analytical Research Cognizance, the global Contract Research Organization (CRO) market was valued at $34.5 billion USD in 2018 and is expected to reach $55.3 billion USD by the end of 2024, growing at a CAGR of 8.2% between 2019 and 2024.

For innovative pharma and biotech companies, choosing the right CRO partner to help with projects such as clinical trials can be crucial to a successful outcome. With the right CRO partner, you can even accelerate your clinical trials with less cost within a shortened time frame.

Like a magic right?

With the right CRO partner, yes, it could be.

So how would you go about finding the best CRO partner for the job?

CR Medicon https://en.crmedicon.com team have partnered with a large number of pharma and biotech companies and successfully helped them in achieving their clinical research and clinical trial goals. By engaging and working with our clients, we fully understand the importance for you to choose the right CRO company as your clinical research partner, focusing on these 7 main criteria that should be used to guide your CRO selection process.

The top 7 CRO selection criteria are:

1. Quality of Service
How high the quality bar is of their CRO services offered? Strong end-to-end quality management and monitoring across all steps of clinical research and trials is a must. Besides, the CRO quality of research is almost always directly linked to whether your results are fully compliant with regulations. Do check the quality certificates that the CRO company holds and set up a thorough review their quality control processes.

2. Directly Related Experience
Have they completed a good number of projects similar to mine in the recent past? Do ask for concrete information about your CRO’s experience, directly related to your project. Also check the credentials of their project team and staff in the proposal – person by person – what is their experience and proven success in my area? In this case, you don’t want to be the guinea pig for any CRO companies. They must have been there, done that, and done that well. Do not hesitate to demand client references in your field. Walk towards the door when they say they cannot, for any reason.

3. Extension of Your Own Team
Can this CRO team work well with mine? The fact is that the CRO you select should be an effective extension of your own team. By all means find out that whether your CRO exactly fills the “blanks” and they and your team have complementary skill set, and resources. In addition, it is very important to know early whether your CRO team and your staff can work along well.

4. Capacities & Capabilities
Can they complete my project within my time frame? Carefully examine each CRO’s capabilities within each market your study will be conducted. Any CRO worth considering should have provided you with team, services, resources needed for locations and duration of your study. The proposed CRO plan should be as solid and detailed as if it came from your own team.

5. Market Coverage
Does this CRO cover all my trial market(s) equally well? For example, if your drug or medical device is going to enter both US and China, can this CRO do US-China parallel trial and submission? In addition, partnering with a CRO that excels in all your markets can save you a lot of time and money

6. Cost Considerations
How much am I to spend on this CRO project? Of course, you want to save money by outsourcing your project to a CRO. However, being ready to ink the contract quickly with the lowest bidder often may not be a sound strategy. The winner on the cost factor should be a CRO who can provide services meeting all other criteria while having the lowest bid. Also don’t omit “hidden costs,” for example, all systems and teams within a CRO company should be transparent to you and well inter-connected to minimize your project duration and use of CRO resources, both of which translate into money from your packet.

7. It’s a Partnership
Is your CRO stable enough to complete your project? Do I have a next phase of the current project? Do I have other clinical trials down the road? Do I have other markets to enter? If your answer is YES to any of these questions, you should be looking for a CRO partner that can help you now AND the future. The keywords to use here are “stability” and “trustworthy” – choose a CRO provider that is financially sound and you can trust to work with on the current and future projects. Assess each CRO’s team, experiences, resources, financials, markets and growth plan and identify one that closely lines up with your business growth. Of course, working with the same CRO partner instead of switching often will also safe your time and money in the long run.
Do you have any additional criteria you would add to the list? Let us know in the comments section below.