In early 2026, ACRO conducted an online survey of its member companies evaluating their activities throughout 2025. The survey was held among 15 ACRO member companies to better understand the activities and demographic makeup of ACRO member organizations and to demonstrate the impact of our industry on drug development.
As the world’s leading association for clinical research and technology organizations, ACRO and its members play a critical role in the research and development of new medicines. According to our latest state of the industry report, ACRO members:
- Conducted or participated in 7,634 studies involving 1.4 million patients and volunteers in 2025.
- Worked with an estimated 592 companies sponsoring clinical research.
- Employed 152,000 workers in the United States and nearly half a million individuals worldwide.
Our members bring the expertise and scale needed to drive medical innovation forward, and therefore, they care about maintaining strong leadership at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As ACRO noted after the White House announced its intent to nominate Heidi Overton to lead the FDA:
“ACRO believes a strong clinical research ecosystem depends on strong leadership at the FDA that can provide a predictable, efficient, and science-based regulatory review process.”
ACRO also values the regulatory policies governing clinical research, which is why we welcome the consensus reforms outlined in the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) VIII performance goals letter. The PDUFA VIII goals will help:
- Ensure FDA has the resources and workforce to deliver. A well-resourced FDA is essential to American leadership in drug development. PDUFA VIII recognizes the importance of ensuring FDA has the right staffing, expertise and resources to meet its commitments. Everyone—sponsors, researchers, clinical research organizations and patients—benefits when the FDA is well-equipped to make timely, science-based regulatory decisions.
- Make drug development and review more predictable. Efforts in PDUFA VIII to improve communication between FDA and sponsors and strengthen the first-cycle review process are essential. Clearer, more consistent engagement can help avoid unnecessary delays and allow clinical research organizations and their partners to plan more effectively—helping new, innovative medicines reach patients sooner.
- Modernize regulation to keep pace with latest advances in clinical research. PDUFA VIII commitments encourage the FDA to make greater use of modern regulatory science, real-world evidence, innovative trial approaches and new technologies in drug development and review. Bringing these approaches into more routine use, while maintaining scientific rigor, will make clinical research more efficient for both regulators and developers.
Timely enactment of these reforms, and strong FDA leadership, are important to the individuals driving clinical research forward and to patients waiting for new medicines to treat their disease. As we said just recently:
“We look forward to continuing to be a constructive partner to the FDA and its leadership to ensure our members can deliver on their mission to drive the safe, high-quality research that leads to new medicines for the patients who need them.”
If you have any questions about the critical role ACRO’s members play in clinical research, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can reach us at info@acrohealth.org. We welcome the opportunity to connect and be a resource.
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About ACRO:
ACRO advocates as the collective voice of innovative clinical research and technology organizations to regulators and policymakers, educating stakeholders and shaping policies that foster the efficient, effective, and safe conduct of clinical research. Learn more about ACRO and sign up to receive email updates by visiting: acrohealth.org.
Media Contacts:
Erin Brown
Director, Industry Intelligence and Messaging
ebrown@acrohealth.org