Avoca Launches Diligent® Qualification and eLuminate™ Online Learning Platforms at the 7th Annual AQC® Global Quality Summit in Dublin, Ireland

Princeton, NJ, June 13, 2018 – The Avoca Group announced today that it has launched the Diligent®Qualification Platform, the clinical research industry’s first centralized platform for vendor qualification as well as eLuminate™, an online learning platform focused on clinical research quality, compliance and oversight, at the 7th Annual AQC Global Quality Summit 13-14 June 2018, at the Hotel Intercontinental in Dublin, Ireland.   “By spearheading the creation of industry standards for qualifying clinical service providers, we have provided a powerful body of work for the industry,” said Patricia Leuchten, Founder and CEO, The Avoca Group. “With Diligent, we have now combined these standards and leading practices with a robust technology platform to enable companies to manage quality, remain compliant, and shorten cycle times. We’re very excited about the launch in Dublin.”   More about Diligent® This event marks the second phase of the Diligent Qualification Platform where the scope of industry leading standards and RFI questionnaires expands into five of the most frequently outsourced functional service categories as identified in The Avoca Group’s 2017 Industry Report (field monitoring, data management, medical writing, biostatistics, and Phase I units) to accompany the original core requirements and seven endpoint-generating service categories (central laboratories, IRT services, central ECG services, medical imaging services, biomarker laboratories, bioanalytical laboratories, and clinical outcome assessments). The web-based platform compliments The Avoca Group’s vendor qualification consulting services and serves as a centralized repository of provider-completed RFI questionnaires that are based upon industry standards developed through the Avoca Quality Consortium and its 90+ Member companies. Sponsors and CROs use the platform to rapidly identify and evaluate clinical service providers using robust qualification information resulting in shorter cycle times and greater resource efficiency while concurrently raising the bar for third-party quality.  The long-term benefits of the centralized platform include reducing risk and data-driven, higher-quality decision-making.   More about eLuminate™  eLuminate is a first-of-its-kind online learning tool that looks at the key components of quality oversight and provides clinical research professionals with real examples of leading practices for use at their organization. eLuminate is the only educational training tool built from the accumulated knowledge of the Avoca Quality Consortium. This initial launch includes the 10-module Fundamentals of Proactive Quality Management course, in which clinical research professionals gain a thorough understanding of the eight key components of quality oversight. The course connects the holistic view of vendor oversight and provides insight into how these practices connect to day-to-day operations and lead to a better state of inspection readiness in terms of oversight.     The second course for eLuminate will be released later in 2018 and will be focused on situational competencies in terms of inspection experiences and interviews, as well as thought-provoking scenarios where learners must think of corrective and preventative actions to address the findings from the inspector.   Both Diligent and eLuminate will be available to both AQC® Member and non-Member companies in the industry. For more information, contact Beth Listhaus at beth.listhaus@theavocagroup.com.   The Summit is supported by Platinum-level sponsor ICON, Gold-level sponsor Purdue Pharma, and Silver-level sponsors Appian Corporation and Longboat Clinical. Embrace the Present. Own the Future. Learn more about the Summit at theavocagroup.com/quality-consortium/7th-annual-summit.   About The Avoca Quality Consortium® The Avoca Quality Consortium is a Member-based pre-competitive collaborative comprised of clinical operations, quality, and outsourcing professionals from pharma, biotech, CROs, and clinical service providers. The AQC was founded in 2011, and Members include more than 90 pharma, biotech, and clinical service providers. Through the Knowledge Center, a comprehensive and proprietary repository of over 400 leading practices, guidelines, tools, templates, and process documents, as well as AQC research and archived webinars, the AQC delivers thought leadership to guide Member companies in applying leading-edge approaches to risk management and complying with GxP. Learn more about the Consortium here.   About The Avoca Group® The Avoca Group is an integrated research and consulting firm providing survey research, consulting services, and training in the areas of clinical trial outsourcing, strategic alliances and quality management. Sponsors of clinical research and clinical research organizations have benefited from quantitative and qualitative perception data gathered by The Avoca Group from sites about their reciprocal working relationships. The company’s focus is to help solve complex clinical trial challenges and to improve the quality and efficiency of clinical trial execution. Founded in 1999, the company works exclusively in the health care industry and has a focus on clinical research and clinical outsourcing. Learn more about The Avoca Group at www.theavocagroup.com and on LinkedIn and Twitter.