The COVID-19 pandemic was a wakeup call for everyone. Impacting common people, organizations, and economies, this pandemic has compelled us to rethink our priorities. The same can be said about organizations, especially those operating in the healthcare services sector.
Speaking specifically about laboratories and the significant role they have played in aiding healthcare and pharmaceutical companies in the war against the pandemic, the contribution has been immeasurable.
To bring into spotlight such eminent clinical lab service providers, we at Insights Care have derived this edition titled, 10 Most Trusted Clinical Laboratories in 2021. And one of the most prominent global clinical trial testing services providers that we came across is ACM Global Laboratories.
Headquartered in Rochester, NY, ACM Global Laboratories operates in more than 65 countries around the globe, with wholly owned facilities in the U.S.A., UK, India, and Singapore.
The organization’s full-time staff of laboratory experts performs millions of tests annually, spanning all medical disciplines including pathology, microbiology, molecular diagnostics, toxicology and more.
In the following interview, Brian Wright, the President of ACM Global Laboratories shares valuable insights regarding the current landscape of the clinical trials testing vertical and how the organization has sustained its competency within the niche.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Please brief our audience about ACM Global Laboratories, its values, and the key aspects of its stronghold within the medical diagnostics and clinical testing services space.
ACM Global Laboratories was founded on the principle that research partnerships depend on unmatched expertise, and an unwavering dedication to customer service and shared goals. Our experts have long-standing histories in central laboratory services and patient care, allowing us to meet our customers’ goals with a vision of how they will impact lives for the better.
These are the drivers that have propelled us forward from our inception as a medical diagnostics business in 1975 and emerging as a full-service laboratory business in 1996, to becoming a global clinical laboratory research solutions provider with locations in Rochester, NY, Horsham, PA, Mumbai, Singapore, and York, UK today.
Our global studies account for more than 60 percent of our central laboratory business, and we operate in approximately 7,000 sites across 65 countries. This expansive reach is possible due to our network of wholly owned laboratories and our long-standing relationships with multiple, carefully selected partner laboratories. Through this worldwide network, we are able to navigate the complexities of transporting samples and supplies globally by validating compliance with
local regulations, managing couriers and shipments and providing shipping options that optimize cost, efficiency and reliability.
We also have a national toxicology and infectious disease testing service line, Drugscan. With over 35 years of experience in toxicology testing via their CAP-accredited and SAMSHA-certified laboratory, Drugscan partners with organizations and providers to provide infectious disease testing, prescription drug and addiction monitoring, specialized drug testing and workplace screening programs to clients across the United States.
As an organization we passionately work to serve our customers, we embrace and drive change within our organization, empower our employees and partners to drive towards excellence, and have open and honest conversations about how to accomplish all of this and more.
We believe execution matters, that we must get it right the first time, that people and patients are our priority, that integrity and transparency together work to build trust and confidence, all the while challenging the status quo with the goal of innovation and education, on a worldwide scale.
Tell us more about the offerings that make your organization stand out from the competition?
At ACM Global Laboratories, we take quality assurance and accountability seriously. It’s one of our core internal principles. Knowing the life-changing potential of clinical trial outcomes, we put the patient first every step of the process.
Our dedication to being purposefully patient-driven is reflected in the high-quality work provided by our team members every day around the globe. We do this by being determined to always find a solution, anticipating, and solving challenges and questions before they occur, and working with empathy that what we do every day affects patients and their families.
Our clinical trials testing and toxicology business segments combine to position ACM as one of the largest independent central laboratories in the world. We are using that strength to remain focused on our mission of partnering with clients to bring health, healing and hope to patients around the globe.
Brian, please brief us about your journey in the healthcare industry.
I began my professional career as a Combat Arms Officer in the United States Army. After serving as an active-duty Army Officer from 2003 to 2008, achieving the rank of Captain, I decide to take my passion for serving and focus it in the healthcare sector.
After separating from the Army, I begin my career in healthcare by accepting an operational leadership role with Stryker, a Fortune 500 medical device company. Over the next 12 years, I have had the opportunity to serve in various operational leadership and general management roles with TE Connectivity’s Medical Products Business Unit, Remedi Senior Care, and SP Industries, all of which are in the Healthcare or Life Science sectors.
For the last two and a half years I have had the privilege of being the President of ACM Global Laboratories, where I am responsible for leading a global network of central laboratory and clinical support services.
I began my professional career in the military because I wanted to be able to serve those around me. This same drive has focused my career in the healthcare sector because I see our industry as an opportunity to continue living out my passion for service by leading organizations that at the end of the day have a positive impact on people.
I cannot think of anything that could be more fulfilling than being a part of ACM Global Laboratories and working with our exceptional employees who daily deliver the actionable clinical insights that are critical to fulfilling our mission.
What is your opinion on the impact of the current pandemic on the global healthcare sector, and what challenges did you come across during the initial phase of the pandemic?
Overall, I think the pandemic has pushed the healthcare sector to be much more flexible and adaptable. Clinical trial research companies and central research organizations have had to find ways to complete studies faster than they ever have before, especially with the urgent need for vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19. Ultimately, this has challenged the way that we think about patient recruitment, clinical continuity, and logistics on a global scale.
The pandemic has also forced us to become more innovative with things like hybrid trials, remote nursing, and telemedicine to ensure we are able to provide necessary patient care in a virtual environment. The onset of the pandemic forced laboratory testing companies like ours to figure out innovative ways to continue to provide patient care and access to diagnostic testing when patients were limited in their ability to get to their doctor’s office.
For example, our national toxicology business, Drugscan quickly developed and deployed a virtual oral fluid collection solution to facilitate specimen collection right in the patient’s home, without compromising the need for a monitored specimen collection or jeopardizing the chain of custody requirements for a valid drug test. This allowed us to continue to provide essential drug monitoring and testing, in a convenient, secure, and patient-centered way in the middle of the pandemic.
In your opinion, what could be the future of the diagnostics and laboratory services sector post the pandemic?
Our industry is primed for rapid growth post-pandemic. The pandemic has led more scientists, businesses, and governments to question and prioritize how they can help to facilitate the discovery of new vaccines, treatments, and monitoring tools across all therapeutic areas. This enhanced focus is going to drive increased investment in the clinical trials and diagnostic testing sectors, resulting in accelerated clinical trials, and innovative new was to prevent, diagnose, treat, and cure different disease states.
I also think that the pandemic will drive accelerated consolidation in the diagnostics and laboratory services space. Many companies struggled with the ebbs and flows of the pandemic, and we are already starting to see an accelerated pace of consolidation across the small to mid-size space, and even at the macro level with large, global CROs making strategic acquisitions. I would expect this to continue as clinical research organizations seek to diversify their therapeutic expertise and service offerings, and diagnostic laboratories seek to increase their scale and expand their capabilities.
As an established leader, what would be your advice to the budding entrepreneurs and enthusiasts aspiring to venture into healthcare services space?
The healthcare services sector is undergoing a period of disruptive growth and innovation. At ACM Global Laboratories, the key to our success has been a relentless focus on creating a patient-centric culture that is flexible, responsive, and easy to do business with. We prioritize quality and a ‘get it right the first time’ mentality with everything that we do, because what we do has an impact on people’s lives every day.
At ACM Global Laboratories, our mission is to deliver actionable clinical insights that lead to therapies and treatments that provide health, healing, and hope to patients around the world.
How do you envision on scaling your organization’s operations in 2021?
At ACM, we are extremely bullish on the market, and we are continuing to focus our investments on providing the highest level of quality and service to our clients – because we truly understand that there is a patient behind everything that we do.
All our investments are focused on equipping our business with the right people, processes, systems, and technology that will ensure a superior level of quality and service so that we can effectively, efficiently, and responsibly scale our business.
We are also making sure that we develop and deploy innovative technology solutions that allow us to be easy to do business, and provide results in a secure, mobile fashion to our clinical trials and toxicology clients and their patients.