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A Strategic Tool For Companies Who Outsource

The vetting process for selecting outsourcing partners is time consuming and complex. To support the process, Clinical Leader and Life Science Connect developed the CRO Leadership Awards in 2012. We think sponsor company opinions are important and credible — that’s why the awards are based on customer feedback. Winning CROs are chosen through impartial market research based on feedback from sponsor companies that utilize outsourcing services.

Primary market research by ISR Reports is the basis of the awards. Sponsors provide ratings of CROs based on recent outsourced projects. This experiential feedback is analyzed by sponsor company size to reveal leading CROs in different performance categories. For details on the research methodology, visit isrreports.com.

Would you like to participate in the research? Email your request to ISR.

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2024 Winners

2024 Winners By Category & Respondent Group

CROs have an opportunity to win these awards in up to three groups of outsourcing respondents—Big Pharma, Small Pharma, and Overall (combined Big and Small Pharma). We also recognize those companies that scored one standard deviation or more above the weighted average in each of the core categories. You will see these companies noted as the Champions.

 

Champions

Overall

  • ClinChoice
  • Caidya

Exceeded Customer Expectations

Overall

  • CHDR
  • Lambda Therapeutic Research
  • ProPharma
  • Duke Clinical Research Institute
  • Precision for Medicine
  • Celerion
  • SGS Health Science
  • The PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • ICON
  • Fortrea
  • IQVIA
  • Worldwide Clinical Trials
  • Parexel

Big Pharma

  • Precision for Medicine
  • Worldwide Clinical Trials
  • Medpace
  • Fortrea
  • ICON

Small Pharma

  • Lambda Therapeutic Research
  • CHDR
  • Celerion
  • Innovaderm Research Inc.
  • The PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Caidya
  • IQVIA
  • Eurofins BioPharma Services
  • Novum
  • Altasciences
  • Precision for Medicine
  • Parexel
  • ICON

 

Champions

Overall

  • CHDR
  • SGS Health Science
  • Caidya

Big Pharma

  • SGS Health Science
  • Worldwide Clinical Trials

Small Pharma

  • CHDR

Exceeded Customer Expectations

Overall

  • ClinChoice
  • ProPharma
  • Worldwide Clinical Trials
  • Allucent
  • The PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Lambda Therapeutic Research
  • ICON
  • Precision for Medicine
  • PSI CRO AG
  • IQVIA

Big Pharma

  • Medpace
  • Precision for Medicine
  • Syneos Health
  • ICON

Small Pharma

  • Caidya
  • The PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Allucent
  • Worldwide Clinical Trials
  • Lambda Therapeutic Research
  • Precision for Medicine
  • IQVIA
  • ICON
  • ProPharma

 

Champions

Overall

  • Innovaderm Research Inc.
  • CHDR
  • ClinChoice

Big Pharma

  • Worldwide Clinical Trials

Small Pharma

  • Innovaderm Research Inc.
  • CHDR

Exceeded Customer Expectations

Overall

  • Duke Clinical Research Institute
  • Caidya
  • IQVIA
  • Worldwide Clinical Trials
  • Allucent
  • SGS Health Science
  • Novum
  • PSI CRO AG
  • ICON
  • ProPharma
  • The PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Parexel

Big Pharma

  • SGS Health Science
  • Precision for Medicine
  • Fortrea
  • Medpace
  • ICON
  • IQVIA

Small Pharma

  • IQVIA
  • The PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Novum
  • Parexel
  • Allucent
  • ICON
  • Worldwide Clinical Trials

 

Champions

Overall

  • CHDR
  • ClinChoice
  • Caidya

Big Pharma

  • Worldwide Clinical Trials

Small Pharma

  • CHDR

Exceeded Customer Expectations

Overall

  • Duke Clinical Research Institute
  • Worldwide Clinical Trials
  • SGS Health Science
  • ProPharma
  • Precision for Medicine
  • Celerion
  • ICON
  • The PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • PSI CRO AG
  • Fortrea
  • Lambda Therapeutic Research
  • IQVIA

Big Pharma

  • SGS Health Science
  • Precision for Medicine
  • Medpace
  • Fortrea
  • ICON

Small Pharma

  • Celerion
  • Caidya
  • The PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Worldwide Clinical Trials
  • ICON
  • Precision for Medicine
  • Lambda Therapeutic Research
  • IQVIA
  • Innovaderm Research Inc.
  • Quotient Sciences

 

Champions

Overall

  • Duke Clinical Research Institute
  • ClinChoice
  • CHDR

Big Pharma

  • Worldwide Clinical Trials

Small Pharma

  • CHDR

Exceeded Customer Expectations

Overall

  • ProPharma
  • Caidya
  • Novum
  • SGS Health Science
  • Precision for Medicine
  • Celerion
  • The PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Worldwide Clinical Trials
  • ICON
  • PSI CRO AG
  • Medpace
  • IQVIA
  • Parexel

Big Pharma

  • Precision for Medicine
  • Medpace
  • SGS Health Science
  • Fortrea
  • ICON
  • Syneos Health

Small Pharma

  • The PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Novum
  • IQVIA
  • Innovaderm Research Inc.
  • ProPharma
  • Precision for Medicine
  • Caidya
  • Quotient Sciences
  • Parexel
  • Worldwide Clinical Trials
  • ICON

Survey Methodology: ISR's Contract Research Organization Quality Benchmarking research is conducted annually via an online survey. For the 2024 CRO Leadership Awards, 42 CROs were evaluated on more than 20 performance metrics. Research participants were recruited from biopharmaceutical companies of all sizes and were screened for decision-making influence and authority when it comes to working with CROs. Respondents only evaluated companies with which they had worked on an outsourced project within the past 18 months. This level of qualification ensures that ratings come from actual involvement with a business and that companies identified as leaders are backed by experiential data. CROs must meet the minimum threshold of customer survey responses to be eligible for an award.

The CRO Leadership Awards recognize top outsourcing partners, determined by feedback from sponsor companies who outsource clinical trials. The awards are presented by Clinical Leader, Life Science Connect, and Industry Standard Research. Clinical Leader provides a complex industry with a forum investigating common struggles including patient recruitment, CRO selection, clinical trial management systems, or anything else related to the clinical research and trial sector. Life Science Connect is a network of life science go-to-work solutions and communities dedicated to a better way of connecting professionals and suppliers. ISR Reports is the premier, full service market research provider to the pharma and pharma services industries. With over a decade of experience, ISR delivers an unmatched level of domain expertise with off-the-shelf intelligence and custom research offerings.