HORSHAM, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Acurian Inc., a leading, full-service provider of global patient enrollment and retention solutions and a subsidiary of PPD, announced today that Roger Smith, formerly senior vice president of Acurian operations, has been appointed to lead the company as senior vice president and general manager. Smith has been a member of Acurian’s senior management team for 13 years, holding successive positions of increasing responsibility over that time.
“We are pleased that Roger’s appointment will ensure a smooth transition for Acurian,” said William Sharbaugh, PPD’s chief operating officer. “Roger has engineered the company’s core patient enrollment capabilities and intimately understands the operating principles under which Acurian has experienced tremendous growth. He is uniquely qualified to continue Acurian’s success, and we are delighted that he has accepted the challenge of upholding and enhancing Acurian’s leadership position.”
Smith’s appointment comes as Acurian’s previous executive vice president and general manager, Rick Malcolm, has retired. Malcolm joined Acurian as CEO in 2005 and led the company’s transformation into the recognized global leader of patient enrollment solutions, culminating with the acquisition of Acurian by PPD in August 2013.
“Since being acquired, Acurian has continued to grow and innovate,” Sharbaugh said. “Acurian delivered a record number of results-based projects and randomized patients in 2014, a reflection of the business’s underlying health. We are grateful for Rick’s leadership and are happy that his decision to retire and spend more time with his family comes at a time when Acurian is well-positioned for continued growth.”
Prior to joining Acurian in 2001, Smith’s previous experience included senior vice president, chief information officer for Kozmo.com; vice president, Internet strategy and development at Petopia.com (PETCO); and vice president, programming at Sony Online Inc. He earned a bachelor of science degree from Boston University.
About Acurian
Acurian, a subsidiary of PPD, is a leading full-service provider of clinical trial patient enrollment and retention solutions for the life sciences industry. The company increases the enrollment performance of investigator sites worldwide by identifying, contacting, prescreening and referring people who live in the local community but are unknown to a research site. As a result, trial sponsors complete enrollment without incurring the unexpected expense of adding sites or time.
About PPD
PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing drug discovery, development, lifecycle management and laboratory services. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 46 countries and more than 13,000 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a commitment to quality to help clients and partners accelerate the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics and maximize the returns on their R&D investments. For more information, visit www.ppdi.com.
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions, including statements, expectations and assumptions about Acurian’s service offerings and expertise, including outside the United States, contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Although PPD and Acurian attempt to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based and could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Other important factors that could cause future results to differ materially include the following: the ability to attract, integrate, retain and train key personnel; competition in the outsourcing industry; rapid technological advances that make our services or capabilities less competitive; compliance with drug development and privacy laws and regulations; changes in the regulation of the drug development process and privacy laws and regulations; PPD’s ability to win new business; overall global economic conditions; economic conditions, research and development spending, and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and government-sponsored research sectors; loss, delay or modification of large contracts; higher-than-expected cancellation rates; the rate of conversion of backlog into revenue; consolidation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries; risks associated with and dependence on strategic relationships; actual operating performance; risks associated with acquisitions and investments; and the ability to control SG&A spending. PPD and Acurian do not assume any obligation and expressly disclaim any duty to update these forward-looking statements in the future, except as required by applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing PPD’s or Acurian’s estimates or views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.
