Clinical research marks a pivotal point in the drug development process as it assesses the safety and effectiveness of medications, devices, and treatment regimens planned for humans. As the CRO space continues to experience radical changes, there is no doubt that clinical trials are continually becoming more complex. Traditionally, CROs were generally only considered for clinical trials and lab services. These days the market has evolved to cover data and analytics for trial insights and design, drug development planning, medical affairs, and regulatory consulting. The need to make data-driven decisions and elevate the quality of trials by leveraging technology is already making its presence felt, and CROs are becoming part of the solution.

As the pharmaceutical industry embraces new technologies and innovations, including electronic record keeping, the volume of information collected before, during, and after clinical trials, continues to grow. Similar to the adoption of electronic data capture (EDC) systems, which initially started slow and now is the norm, it could be expected that the same will occur with data quality oversight (DQO) once monitoring efforts are centralized. The application of advanced technology and analytics is creating a new pool of opportunities for improving trial performance by bringing forth cutting-edge approaches for trial designs, site selections, and patient recruitments. For instance, virtual clinical trials can enable CROs to be more effective and patient-centric as it enables them to create a more personalized approach that reduces the burden on patients. Technologies like Artificial intelligence and machine learning are also bringing in increased efficiencies to the statistical analysis and programming of clinical data along with the increasing costs in drug development.

Growth has also come from rising demand for safety and pharmacovigilance, clinical trial feasibility, and protocol optimisation. Today, CROs are navigating into trials through deploying evidence-driven design capabilities that can shorten study timelines, reduce protocol amendments, and subsequently bolster the patience recruitment process with more precise targeting. Many major corporations are outsourcing clinical trials, drug discovery, drug development, outsourcing, and various other services to CROs as a result of the increasing size, complexity, duration, and costs.

Understanding the changing times, Pharma Tech Outlook has compiled a list of Top 10 CROs in UK to guide companies associated with the pharmaceutical sector in harnessing the power of technology to leverage digital capabilities in critical functions including research and manufacturing of the therapeutic drugs and medical devices, while simultaneously broaden treatment options and help improve patient health. In this edition, we are glad to feature various CROs that are at the forefront of revolutionizing the pharmaceutical space through their groundbreaking clinical research solutions and services. We hope this issue of the Pharma Tech Outlook helps you build the partnership you and your firm needs to foster a technologically-driven pharmaceutical landscape.

We present to you Pharma Tech Outlooks’ “Top 10 CROs in UK – 2019.”