Clinical trials have a huge significance in the healthcare sector as it enables researchers and pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs and medicines that bring revolutionary changes enhancing and empowering healthcare to improve quality of life.
While pharmaceutical companies have always relied on companies carrying out clinical trials, few have made a mark by delivering high-quality results, and Biorasi is one of them.
Led by Chris O’Brien, CEO with his passion for technology and diligence in delivering consistency, Biorasi has proved itself apart from the competitors through the company’s focus on quality and responsiveness.
In the following interview, Chris shares more about the company’s operations and approach towards its sponsors, the effect of the ongoing pandemic on the business as well as his plans for the company moving forward in the post-pandemic era.
Please brief our audience about Biorasi, its mission, and the key aspects of its stronghold within the contract research niche.
At Biorasi, we work with sponsors to deliver effective clinical trials for rare diseases, oncology, and other urgent conditions. We believe execution is everything in clinical trials, and we focus on delivering high-quality results faster. Our speed and responsiveness differentiate us from larger CROs, and our focus on quality (including our recent achievement of ISO 9001-2015 certification) differentiates us from the competitors.
Tell us more about the offerings which make your company stand out from the competition?
Sponsors tell us they value our transparency and our commitment to partnership. We achieve the first through technology, we synthesize Biorasi data as well as data from third parties to give sponsors real-time insight into the study. Sponsors feel the commitment of the Biorasi team because that team is not spread across a dozen studies. Our dedicated teams make the sponsor a top priority.
Chris, please brief us about your journey in the industry.
I’m the CEO of Biorasi. I’m passionate about applying technology and process consistency to service businesses. The biggest players in the CRO industry have grown through acquisition, resulting in some very complicated and inefficient companies that mash together conflicting systems, processes, and cultures. We believe sponsors deserve better.
What is your opinion on the impact of the current pandemic on the global CRO vertical, and what challenges did your company face during the initial phase of the pandemic?
The industry is experiencing 10 years of change compressed into one year. During the pandemic, we first pivoted to remote operations and remote management of our sites. Then we build out our decentralized trial model. The key here is not anyone’s technology but the synthesis of that technology into efficient processes and the memorialization of this in well-designed SOPs. The real value lies at the intersection of process and technology.
With continuous development in technologies such as AI and big data, what is your prediction about the future of the CRO vertical?
Advanced analytics are already playing a role in data hygiene and inpatient identification in clinical trials. We see that role expanding, but you have to be a skeptical consumer. Because AI is both a hot term and an ill-defined one, we’re seeing plenty of companies slap an AI descriptor onto their systems.
As an established leader, what would be your advice to the budding entrepreneurs and enthusiasts aspiring to venture into the contract research niche?
Understand good clinical practice and the regulatory requirements that are essential for clinical research. We see plenty of health-tech companies that focus more on tech and less on health. You want to build data privacy, 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, etc. from the beginning.
How do you envision scaling your company’s operations and offerings in 2021?
The biggest challenge today is attracting and retaining great people. The way to do that is to make Biorasi a great place to work. We’re very focused on that.
Awards and accolades
- Named as ‘Entrepreneurial Company of 2020’ in the Clinical Research segment by Frost and Sullivan.
- Entered the list of Inc 5000 last year for fastest-growing companies.
- ISO 9001-2015 certification, an achievement that is very rare in the CRO world and which speaks to the commitment to quality.
