Trial Masters, a contract research organisation (CRO) operating in Hungary and Romania, has joined the Athens-based ZEINCRO Group, extending the reach of the latter’s clinical research services across Central- and South-Eastern Europe (CSEE).
No financial details of the arrangement were disclosed. Consolidating the Trial Masters business gives ZEINCRO a combined staff of more than 140 and the opportunity to take on larger-scale projects as it expands beyond its existing core markets of Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.
“Both our teams have forged strong links with local authorities and the healthcare community, giving us a unique and in-depth understanding of the regions in which we operate and enabling us to deliver bespoke clinical research services that are flexible and ethical, maximising patient recruitment and compliance,” said ZEINCRO Group chairman Professor Gregory Sivolapenko.
The group can also provide specialised services in the field of risk-management plans, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance and post-marketing safety and efficacy studies.
A full-service CRO with offices in Athens, London (UK), Istanbul (Turkey) and Nicosia (Cyprus), ZEINCRO has been working with local and multinational pharmaceutical companies, medical centres, health funds, doctors’ associations and other contract research organisations since 1998.
Its offering ranges from design and monitoring of bioequivalence studies and clinical trials (Phases I-IV) to biostatistical and data-management services, regulatory affairs and strategy, pricing, reimbursement and market-access services, pharmacovigilance, pharmacoeconomic studies, internet-based trials, preclinical research, in- and out-licensing, business development and market research.
Natural fit
Based in Budapest, Trial Masters was founded in March 2000 by a Hungarian team who had worked together in clinical-trial management since 1995.
The company’s main focus was overseeing Phase II-IV studies in Hungary and Romania, including project management, regulatory affairs, contract negotiations, identification, feasibility and selection of investigational sites, routine monitoring, site management, site closure and archiving.
Broadening its range of services to take in investigational medicinal-product logistics, quality-assurance auditing, medical review and biostatistics, Trial Masters became the leading player on the Hungarian CRO market, the company said.
Joining ZEINCRO Group was “a natural fit as we both share the same core values and fundamental approach to successfully delivering clinical development programmes”, commented, Dr János Demeter, chief executive officer of Trial Masters.
