Global workforce challenges for CROs

AUSTRIA—VIARES GmbH recently announced a new partnership with the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) to help clinical research organizations (CROs) attract and retain key talent globally. Says VIARES: “Sourcing experienced clinical research talent has become increasingly uneconomic and the lack of talent is causing the industry to look for alternative ways to close the talent gap, which is what this new strategic partnership is designed to address.”

The supply of clinical research associates (CRAs) is constantly lower than the demand, which is having a financial impact on the industry due to an increase in compensation (direct cost for CRO, sponsor and overall healthcare system), VIARES reports. Furthermore, this supply challenge is impacting the existing workforce, creating an increased turnover and leading to increased costs to hire, delayed revenue generation for CROs and lower sponsor satisfaction due to the impact on project delivery.

VIARES and ACRP will provide an integrated professional hiring and development program to CROs worldwide, proactively developing an internal talent pool by providing high-achieving employees the opportunity to grow into the CRA role. The partnership will also support the hiring of external talents with relevant work experience and provide them with industry-qualified training. In all cases, the solution serves to deliver talent when it is needed, in a cost-effective way and qualified to be accepted by pharma companies.

“Our mission is to provide great talent to the clinical research industry to fuel their growth, and our combined efforts with ACRP now provide an unparalleled solution,” explains Dietmar Eglhofer, CEO of VIARES. “With our joined efforts we will bring great trained, certified and ready-to-hire talent to the clinical research industry. And it is scalable for whether the client needs one or one hundred new CRAs.”

As pharma companies already rely on ACRP-qualified key roles in clinical research, such as the principle investigator, it is logical to extend this approach to the new pool of CRAs VIARES is building, the two organizations say, adding that research shows ACRP certification results in higher clinical trial enrollment rates, lower protocol deviations, improved regulatory compliance and better inspection performance.

“In clinical research, people are everything,” says Jim Kremidas, ACRP executive director, “and this new partnership with VIARES is an exciting opportunity to build on our commitment to the clinical research workforce globally. We look forward to this partnership improving clinical trial quality globally and reinforcing the myriad benefits that properly credentialed professionals bring to our industry.”