and decisively respond to emerging market conditions and be prepared to change their course as warranted.

The recent consolidations within the clinical trials industry are putting pressure on CROs that need to get larger to win global business from both medium and large pharmas and biotechs. How do you see this changing landscape, and does your growth strategy include acquiring U.S. and European CROs?

In my view, two distinctly different service CRO models will emerge in the industry: the super-global full-service CROs, and the smaller niche CROs focused on providing services to startups, emerging specialty firms and small to mid-sized pharma companies. Furthermore, although not publicized much, a new strategic partnership model is emerging. This is where pharmaceutical and biotech companies of all sizes and constructs are transferring their assets— specifically their target molecules—to their strategic partners for discovery and development services through the end of phase II trials and beyond. There is enough evidence to suggest that this strategic drug discovery and development outsourcing model is maturing very fast. Now let me address the notion of CROs getting large to win business. One does not necessarily need to get big to compete and grow. We need to “get smarter.” We will compete and grow as a specialist CRO with a substantial competitive advantage by filling in gaps with complementary services, therapeutic competencies and added integration of technology, including clinical informatics for clinical trial

We will amplify our strong presence in India and add competencies to support our operations. We are also actively looking at expansion in the Asia Pacific region. We already have strategic partnerships with various CROs in this region. We are considering forming a strategic partnership or a strategic joint venture in Latin America with a goal of creating a symbiotic relationship that will benefit both parties and allow value to be created at a faster rate than could be achieved independently.

As trials become more global, sponsors seek speed, lower costs and treatment-naïve patients. What will you do to preserve and grow your U.S. clinical trials business—not just in the number of trials but in seeking new ways to recruit patient volunteers?

It is generally understood that small to mid-sized CROs are better able to provide more cost-effective solutions than the big CROs simply because we do not have the overhead costs associated with larger CROs. Furthermore, we are in a better position to create a trial-specific solution to execute that trial effectively. We do not have a “one-size-fits-all” or clinical trial factorytype operation mind set. This streamlined and customized solution allows us to provide superior cost and operational solutions for our partners. As for recruiting treatment-naïve patients, which is challenging the entire

industry, we have implemented a Gold Star Site Network program. It has been in existence for several years and has been used in various therapeutic areas. We have exclusive relationships with investigators in the U.S. and many other parts of the world. They have consistently demonstrated exceptional performance and the ability to recruit treatment-naïve patients in an expeditious manner. Even in very difficult circumstances we have been able to consistently deliver timely recruitment, and in many cases exceed patient recruitment timelines. We have also incorporated clinical intelligence into our patient recruitment efforts. Through our clinical informatics capabilities we are in a position to analyze and target certain patient populations in various parts of the country for different diseases based on epidemiology and reimbursement data.

After spending your career in the pharmaceutical industry and nearly 12 years at Parexel International as a corporate vice president and general manager, what lessons, experiences and leadership strategies are you bringing as CEO of a relatively little-known CRO?

Parexel is a superb organization, and I learned a lot from it. During my tenure there, I learned many business elements that can be applied to a smaller CRO. Parexel taught me how to work in a service industry and how to respectfully cater to our clients. This is an important lesson for any CRO executive. I have learned to find value for our clients with every engagement we have with them. I have also learned to manage proactively and be able to change with the market dynamics