Rho Joins Medidata Solutions CRO Partner Program

Medidata Solutions announced that Rho has joined Medidata’s ASPire to Win channel partner program for contract research organizations (CROs) and other service providers. A full-service CRO, Rho plans to implement the Medidata Rave electronic data capture (EDC) and clinical data management system (CDM) solution in upcoming federally-funded studies as well as commercial studies across all phases.

Rho is a U.S.-based CRO with global capabilities actively conducting trials in more than 50 countries on six continents. Rho offers expertise in a broad range of therapeutic areas, with particular strengths in oncology, CNS and immunology studies.

Rho recently made a strategic decision to move away from development of its in-house system to increase its focus on growth of its core business and client service. To find an EDC partner, Rho formed a cross-functional team to evaluate market-leading EDC providers and selected Medidata Rave for its high marks in ease of use and ability to improve efficiencies in clinical study processes.

“Our partnership with Medidata allows us to provide our customers with an EDC solution that matches the high standards we set for the services we provide,” said Russ Helms, chief technology officer at Rho. “Medidata Rave is a brand our customers trust, and with our expertise in implementing clinical trial technologies we’re confident our customers will benefit from the critical time and cost efficiencies the solution can deliver.”

Rho plans to implement Medidata Rave in four studies within the next six months and continue to ramp up to approximately 20 trials over the course of the following year. Rho’s initial set of studies include Phase I and II studies with U.S. sites, but, once fully implemented, Rho anticipates launching studies across all phases and global sites. Rho expects its first study to go live in January 2011.

Medidata first announced its channel partner program in April 2005 to enable select CROs and other service providers to offer Medidata Rave implementation services. Since then, the program has grown to include more than 25 partners (including nine organizations headquartered in Asia), ranging from smaller clinical consultancies to large, global CROs. For more information, please visit: www.mdsol.com/partnerships/cros.htm.