ACRO Marks 20th Anniversary – And Welcomes New Member

Washington, DC — On March 16, 2022, ACRO’s Board of Directors was joined by more than 125 clinical research stakeholders – including research sponsors, CROs and technology companies,
regulators and policymakers, patient groups, and others – in Washington, DC to celebrate ACRO’s
20th anniversary.

As 2022 ACRO Chair Jackie Kent, Chief Customer Officer at Medidata, said in her welcome, “twenty
years ago, contract research organizations were still relatively new players within the clinical
research enterprise and the place of clinical trial technology providers was in its infancy. Today,
CROs and technology companies are key participants in drug development and leaders in the digital
transformation of clinical trials.

“Over the last several years, ACRO expanded the boundaries of membership in order to welcome
not only CROs but technology companies as well. This recognition that the software, platforms, and
innovative data capabilities provided by technology companies are increasingly integral to the
design, execution and analysis of clinical trials reinforced the association’s long commitment to
innovation in clinical development, and today membership is roughly half CROs and half technology
companies. The mission of ACRO – to advocate for a positive and consistent regulatory and
business environment in which companies that perform a wide range of clinical development
activities can operate worldwide – did not change, but our voice became larger and more diverse.”

Exemplifying the enlarged membership of ACRO, on March 15 the association welcomed its newest
member company, Verily, an Alphabet company focused on advancing precision health. Amy
Abernethy, President of Clinical Studies Platforms at Verily, said, “We are pleased to be part of an
association that is working to bring innovation to clinical development, and look forward to being part
of initiatives that aim to reduce burdens on participants and investigators, enhance diversity in
clinical trials, and speed the delivery of new medicines and new treatments to the patients who need
them.”

 

About ACRO
The Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) represents clinical research and
technology companies that provide a variety of specialized tools and services to support the
development of new pharmaceuticals, biologics, and medical devices. Through its member
companies, ACRO works to improve the quality, efficiency, and safety of biomedical research.
ACRO member companies operate in more than 100 countries across the globe and conduct or
support the conduct of a majority of clinical trials across all therapeutic areas.
For further comment or press inquiries, please contact Aislinn Quinn, Membership and
Communications Assistant, at [email protected].

###

Scroll to Top