Brazil is one of only two Latin American countries (besides Argentina) to have its own contract research organization (CRO) association, and one of only a handful of countries on Earth to do so. That alone speaks volumes about the maturity and size of its clinical research market. Launched in 2006, the Brazilian association is called Associação Brasileira…more...

Things aren’t going so great for Wayne, Pa.-based contract research organization (CRO) Encorium Group (Nasdaq: ENCO). In April, its CFO/executive vice president/secretary/general counsel for the last four years got hired away by Southborough, Mass.-based CRO Averion InternationalPenn…more...

As contract research organizations (CRO) struggle to launch not just more trials but more complex studies, tension is built-in. A sponsor may ask that the CRO use a particular electronic data capture (EDC) supplier. But the sheer profusion of EDC vendors obligates some CROs to learn more than one system. Therein lies the rub. It’s as if…more...

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of another court’s rejection of the suit brought by The Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs. We hope that legal defeat allows Abigail to rest. With any luck, the Supreme Court has slowed a quixotic and ill-informed quest that began in 2003 with a…more...