Commentary|Videos|June 9, 2025

Educating the Industry: Unlocking the Full Potential of MCRCs in Clinical Development

In this video interview, Jim Kremidas, executive director, Association for MultiSite Research Corporations (AMRC), discusses the need for more data and education on multisite clinical research corporations before adoption can become more widespread.

In a recent video interview with Applied Clinical Trials, Jim Kremidas, executive director, Association for MultiSite Research Corporations (AMRC), discussed the Trump Administration's ‘Most Favored Nation’ pricing policy for pharmaceuticals, which aims to match the lowest global prices to reduce costs in the US. Based on his past experience at Eli Lilly, Kremidas expressed concerns about the policy’s impact on pharma companies' clinical development and NIH funding, which could lead to reduced investment in new therapies. Kremidas also highlighted the potential of multisite clinical research corporations (MCRCs) and how they can streamline clinical operations by consolidating contracts and improving efficiency.

ACT: How are sponsors and CROs responding to this shifting landscape? Are they actively seeking out MCRCs, or is more education still needed?

Kremidas: In general, there's more education needed on the concept. There are a handful of sponsors and CROs that indeed, yes, they're going to the MCRCs, but generally speaking, this is a slow to change industry that we are in here. What I described earlier about going to the MCRCs first is not the standard approach, so therefore we definitely need more education and more data showing the value that MCRCs can bring to the industry and to bringing products to market faster.


Related to this article

© photon_photo - © photon_photo - stock.adobe.com
Standardized measurement across five oncology centers found that clinical research coordinators rated eSource-enabled workflows positively (Overall Mean Satisfaction 5.79 of 7), with reduced manual entry and electronic data transfer earning strong marks, while perceived reduction in sponsor and monitor queries lagged as the one domain below threshold.
What Expanding AI Ecosystems Mean for Sponsor Complexity and Oversight
In this video interview, Rajneesh Patil, global head of AI, digital, and innovation in clinical development at Syneos Health, argues that CROs must act as orchestrators rather than aggregators—and that the real test of any AI ecosystem is whether it reduces sponsor coordination burden or just hands it back to them.
Where the Industry Is Headed as Clinical, Operational, and Real-World Data Connect
In this video interview, Rajneesh Patil, global head of AI, digital, and innovation in clinical development at Syneos Health, describes the industry’s trajectory toward a unified intelligence orchestration environment—and explains why the future isn’t one model that knows everything, but a trusted system that brings the right evidence to the right human decision.
Where AI Governance in Clinical Development Falls Short
In this video interview, Rajneesh Patil, global head of AI, digital, and innovation in clinical development at Syneos Health, identifies three recurring failure modes in AI governance frameworks—and explains why responsible AI must be an ongoing operating discipline, not a one-time approval gate.