SynRG makes big time saving by automating; opens US office
Speaking to Outsourcing-Pharma Igor Stefanov, director, general manager of SynRG, explained that receiving three to ten proposals a day means a contract research organisation (CRO) needs to automate its processes.
SynRG has now done this, resulting in the CRO being “flexible and fast”, according to Stefanov who believes the companies “response time is a big, big plus” and offers it a competitive advantage.
To utilise this advantage and extend its client base SynRG has appointed Anna Ravdel as director of business development in the US. The US presence has been established to attract small and mid-sized companies that can benefit from conducting clinical trials in Russia.
Stefanov acknowledged that the lack of a US presence has restricted SynRG “to a certain extent”. The appointment of Ravdel, who has extensive experience, is intended to remove this limit to growth and help SynRG inform US clients of the benefits of outsourcing trials to Russia.
Offices in CEE
SynRG is also planning to open an office in the Ukraine and probably a virtual office in Prague, Czech Republic to increase its presence in central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
The new offices are in response to client demand, according to Stefanov who explained that sponsors that have worked with SynRG in Russia also want to outsource to other areas.
SynRG had established formal alliances to provide this geographic reach but this is now on hold because “in some ways it failed”. Stefanov attributed this to local sponsors lacking the budget for multi-national, multi-centre trials and internal communication difficulties in the alliance.
Furthermore, clients that had developed a good working relationship with SynRG wanted to work directly with the CRO. This lack of trust in the alliance, coupled to the other two factors, has led to the alliance programme stopping for now, with SynRG adding the capabilities in-house.
