CRS Clinical Research Services
Re-Engineering the Pathway for Faster Clinical Trials

The field of drug development progresses with more novel therapeutic agents and technologies. In this context, the aim of clinical trials remains at finding the right balance between medical progress and patient safety. In the pursuit of this equilibrium, a key tenet for drug developers lies in achieving the shortest timeline in the early phase of clinical research—from finding the right clinical trial volunteers to the formulation of proof-of-concept (POC).

However, as newer therapeutic agents emerge to treat complex diseases, the availability of individuals with the relevant physiological indications for carrying out clinical trials is becoming more challenging. This is where Clinical Research Services (CRS), a German contract research organization (CRO), lays its cornerstone. The company leverages its extensive network of pharma companies, physicians, and academic institutes to address the need for faster access to niche patient populations. “We are consistently growing this recruiting network to connect drug developers with their requisite patient populations seamlessly,” says Prof. Thomas Forst, chief medical officer at CRS.

Founded in 2006 as a merger of three established German CROs, CRS exhibits more than 40 years of collective early phase clinical research expertise (foundation of legacy up to 1977). Based on this experience, CRS established a leadership position in the European CRO landscape with access to an extensive volunteer network and numerous patient referral sites. Today, CRS is a go-to name in the clinical research market, offering a range of high-quality clinical development and consultancy services to biotech companies, small and medium-sized clinical organisations, and big pharma enterprises. At the core of this success is CRS’ unparalleled focus on solving the problem from its root cause.

Prof. Forst notes that most of the complexities in today’s clinical trials are an aftermath of the recent paradigm shift in the clinical trial phases. The study of new drugs is now traversing faster into the segment where they are being tested on the patient population with specific physiological indications. In view of this change, the drug developers need earlier access to the right patient candidates, which is a challenge in itself.

Simultaneously, CROs also need a competent workforce that possesses the required knowledge to manage patients and conduct a successful study. “We are always attuned to such changing trends,” says Dr. Volker Menschik, chief business officer at CRS. “Our employees periodically undergo special and personalised training programs to ensure that they can handle the complexity of today’s clinical trials.”

Aside from clinical conduct of trials, CRS’ portfolio includes services for project management, quality assurance, clinical trial supply management, and medical writing among others. To bolster its services, the company has a core focus on patient recruitment for specific areas, which includes metabolic disorders such as diabetes, obesity, and associated cardiovascular complications, along with renal and hepatic impairment. Additionally, the company’s geographical locations and research sites across Germany enable clients to have access to patients from varying demographics, allowing CRS to perform multicenter trials under one service agreement. “All of CRS’ recruitment sites and its vast network of academic and medical institutions operate under the same standard operating procedures and equipment,” explains Dr. Menschik.

Today, numerous pharma companies and medical universities rely on CRS’ proficiency to conduct successful clinical trials. In one such case, CRS helped a medical university carry out a large epidemiological study on patients suffering from fatty liver disease. By consolidating information of potential participants, CRS succeeded in recruiting a huge number of well-characterised patients within a short period. Concurrently, with CRS’ expertise in developing novel assessment methods and patient referral network, the university was able to identify and characterise obese patients based on their liver function.

With the success of recruiting high-quality and study-specific volunteers for more than 2000 studies, CRS has defined its position as one of the leading full-service CROs in Europe today. “Looking ahead, we plan to continue focusing our comprehensive service portfolio in the early phase trials for cardiovascular, renal, and hepatic diseases and become the CRO with the highest expertise to help fight these diseases,” concludes Prof. Forst.