Nextrials is a small but visionary San Francisco-based electronic data capture (EDC) firm. It had some ideas that took competitors years to duplicate. Nextrials offered built-in patient randomization, drug supply and adverse-event reporting years ago. We last wrote about the firm here. When we recently checked in with Nextrials' president, founder and CEO Jim Rogers, he said…more...

Some contract research organizations (CRO) had to be dragged into using technology. They presented at conferences, pooh-poohing software. They doubted, delayed, complained. They did not necessarily advocate fountain pens and carrier pigeons. But they could quote a price on ink and birdseed. And then there are people like Jules Mitchel, president of Target Health. He delights in…more...

With more than two decades in the industry under his belt, Jeffrey Trotter had his own contract research organization (CRO) for more than a decade. He sold it—twice. And now he's helping to shepherd the late-phase strategy at PharmaNet Development Group, where his title is executive VP, Phase IV development. He supervises a 50-person group dedicated to…more...

Some people are happy with incremental progress. A long career in drug safety has left Michael Ibara searching for a bigger leap forward. He's the architect of a potential alternative to the present drug safety morass of paper, faxes, and inefficiency. As head of pharmacovigilance information management at Pfizer, Ibara organized the Aster project, an exploration of…more...