Clinical trials are becoming harder to run. Sponsors and CROs are under pressure to deliver results quickly, yet the traditional site models they rely on are struggling to keep pace. Independent sites, which make up the majority of the market, are under particular strain, facing staff shortages, high turnover, and limited capacity to take on new studies. These pressures are already driving consolidation across the research landscape, as smaller operators find it increasingly difficult to sustain participation in modern clinical research.
A new AMRC whitepaper, Making the Case for Consolidation and Consistency in Clinical Trials, explores how Multisite Clinical Research Corporations (MCRCs) can address these challenges through structured consistency and scale. Drawing on data collected with SBM Research, the study examines how sponsors and CROs perceive different site types and compares those perceptions to performance data.We found that Sponsors and CROs who have experience working with MCRCs rate them as “best in class” nearly as often as they do academic medical centres (AMC), particularly for consistency, speed, and scalability. Yet, when asked to rank the quality delivered by those two models, respondents routinely rated AMCs ‘excellent’, while MCRCs were classed as just ‘good’.
While no model is perfect, MCRCs offer a practical and scalable solution to many of the inefficiencies plaguing our industry. By operating under unified systems, protocols, and oversight models, they can reduce variability, improve efficiency, and provide the structure needed to meet growing trial demands. Our latest research demonstrates that, while this is understood, it isn’t yet highly valued.
MCRCs perform equally well, and often better, across the operational areas that matter most; it’s one of the reasons why these networks are becoming more common. As the clinical research landscape evolves, consistency and scale will define the organizations best equipped to deliver… which means the industry at large needs to get more comfortable with MCRCs.
