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John Ratliff of Covance Elected 2018 ACRO Chairman

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has elected John Ratliff, CEO of Covance Drug Development, as 2018 Chairman and Cynthia Verst, President, Clinical Operations at IQVIA, as Vice Chairman.

Prior to being named Covance’s CEO in September 2016, Mr. Ratliff was President and CEO of HUYA Bioscience International, one of the world’s leaders in globalizing innovation in the biopharma sector. Previously Mr. Ratliff spent almost 10 years at Quintiles (now IQVIA) most recently serving as President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Ratliff holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial and systems engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree in business administration from Duke University.

“I am very pleased to have the opportunity to serve as Chair of ACRO during a period of dynamic change and enormous innovation within our industry,” said Mr. Ratliff. “Our members’ experience and expertise plays a key role in optimizing the development of new treatments, and enabling the delivery of better medicines to patients. As the collective voice of innovative research organizations, I look forward to ACRO’s continuing collaboration with regulators and policymakers around the world.”

ACRO’s successes in 2017 included: input into US tax reform efforts as well as the continuing implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act; significant engagement with regulators and the biopharma industry in Europe around the forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation and the Clinical Trial Regulation; and continuing productive interaction with TransCelerate Biopharma Inc. through the CRO Forum.

ACRO also elected as officers: Brian Nutt, Vice President and Controller at Covance, as Treasurer and James Erlinger, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at IQVIA, as Secretary.

About ACRO

The Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) represents companies that provide a variety of specialized services that support the development of new pharmaceuticals, biologics, and medical devices. Through its member companies, ACRO helps improve the quality, efficiency and safety of biomedical research. ACRO member companies employ more than 130,000 professionals worldwide and conduct research in more than 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.acrohealth.org. Twitter @acrohealth. YouTube @ACROHealthChannelFacebookLinkedIn.

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