Association of Clinical Research Organizations Member Survey Shows Uptick in Hiring

The Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO), which represents clinical outsourcing companies, reported late last fall that its members have expanded their payroll by 122% in the past 10 years and now account for over 72,000 jobs both in the United States and abroad. ACRO attributes this job growth to the 156% increase in revenues since 2001, or a compound annualized rate of 11%. 

“The capability of ACRO members to provide the full spectrum of drug development services required to bring new medicines to market has led to tremendous growth in the industry over the past 10 years,” said Joe Herring, ACRO Immediate Past Chair, and Chairman and CEO of Covance. “The biopharmaceutical industry has recognized our efficiency, quality and commitment to research ethics, and ACRO members now constitute a large—and growing— share of the global drug development infrastructure.”

 Among other survey findings, ACRO members:

• Conducted more than 11,500 clinical trials, involving two million research participants in 114 countries, from Albania to Zimbabwe in 2010;

• On average, conducted research on 300 unique developmental drugs and therapies, including multiple studies for diseases such as breast cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, hepatitis C, asthma, HIV, influenza and hypertension.

• Managed nearly one million square feet of accredited laboratory facilities on five continents that handled over 16 million samples and processed in excess of two million bioanalytical assays. 

According to ACRO’s Executive Director, Doug Peddicord, PhD, the jobs that CROs have created over the past 10 years is due to their tremendous growth. “Our members continue to expand the range and scope of their services, from drug discovery through post-approval studies, developing deep expertise in complex areas like vaccines, biosimilars, comparative effectiveness research, and regenerative medicine.”