The clinical research industry has a lot of acronyms. It can be very confusing to navigate through the field’s vocabulary, especially if you are just starting to read about it. Below, I will tell you everything you need to know about CROs and make your life just a little bit easier.

What is a CRO?

CRO, or a clinical research organization, is a company that assist drug manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies by outsourcing the necessary stages and clinical trial processes. CROs streamline clinical trial processes and help in research and development (R&D). To better understand the roles within a CRO, consider exploring the Clinical Research Coordinator course or the Clinical Trials Assistant Training.

What is the outlook for CROs?

The CROs are critical to the R&D process, and they create growing field. In 2017, the pharmaceutical outsourcing market was valued at $3.37 billion. By 2024, it is estimated to become valued at $7.26 billion.

Many large companies have their own clinical research organization or rely on an outside company to conduct drug development and testing. Outsourcing these services save pharmaceutical companies a lot of money. By hiring a CROs, companies no longer have to recruit or maintain their own clinical department. This helps a company cut down costs overtime.

The two major CROs are the LabCorp and IQVIA.

LabCorp, or Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, generated $11.5 billion of revenue in 2019. LabCorp is split into two: Covance Drug Development and LabCorp Diagnostics. One focuses on clinical research from the early stage research to post regulatory approval, while the other focuses on the diagnostic tests.

IQVIA was the result of a merger between IMS Health and Quintiles in 2016. It had made $11.09 billion in revenue in 2019.

Why are CROs Growing?

Before a drug or medical device can be sold to the public, they must be approved by the relevant bodies. For example, in the U.S., a new drug must be FDA approved before it is released on the market. However, most evaluating bodies have high requirements and need a lot of quality, positive data approving a product. When companies expect unbiased and high-quality results, they hire a CRO.

CROs are experts at what they do. They provide skilled personnel to generate high-quality data and assist with the necessary paperwork so that an approval can go through. One of the most compelling reasons to hire a CRO is that they are unbiased. CROs work closely with the companies they work for, but are separate from them. They do not share a conflicts of interest and can be trusted to report accurate and truthful data.

Want to work for a CRO?

CROs are a part of a growing field, and they need a lot of manpower. There are so many postings for positions within a CROs right here. Don’t have any experience? Don’t worry! You can take courses from CCRPS and learn how to become a clinical research professional. Explore specialized courses like Pharmacovigilance Certification, CRA Training, ICH-GCP Training, Advanced Clinical Research Project Manager Certification, or Advanced Principal Investigator Physician Certification to further your understanding and skills in the field.

Take courses from CCRPS and learn more on how to become a clinical research professional.

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