Association of Clinical Research Organizations

, whose members account for approximately two-thirds of contract clinical development services, held the inaugural meeting of the 

 in Washington, DC. The Forum was established in October 2014 as the primary vehicle for interaction between the CRO industry and 

		The Forum elected as its first Chairman Dr. Alan Metz, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Strategic Partnerships, at Quintiles. As Vice Chair, the Forum elected Amy Kissam, Executive Director, Global Operational Management, at INC Research.

		ACRO and TransCelerate have mutually agreed to initially establish liaison relationships between four TransCelerate workstreams: risk-based monitoring; shared site qualification and training; common protocol template; and quality management system. The Forum selected senior subject matter experts to serve as liaisons to each of these workstreams. The liaisons will be supported by working groups consisting of subject matter experts from across the Forum membership.

		“With the ever-increasing role CROs are playing across the drug development spectrum, and the innovation we are bringing to the process, we look forward to entering a meaningful dialogue with TransCelerate,” said ACRO Chairman Jamie Macdonald, CEO of INC Research. “As the relationship progresses, we anticipate providing CRO industry input into additional workstreams as well as suggesting possible new workstreams for TransCelerate’s consideration.”