Clinical trial site organisation Velocity Clinical Research has announced that it has expanded into Poland, establishing a new site with access to a quarter of a million potential patients.
The company has acquired ClinMedica Research, which is based in Skierniewice, Poland. This is the first site in a series of planned acquisitions by Velocity Clinical Research to happen before the end of this year, marking a significant move into the country by the US-based company.
The ClinMedica site has been proactive in recruiting numerous patients for cardiology trials, as well as a broad range of therapeutic areas involving ambulatory medicine.
Dominic Clavell, European general manager for Velocity, said: “Poland is a strategic market for us since it is recognised by the biopharmaceutical companies and CROs as a top recruiting country, supported by a government that understands the benefits commercial clinical trials bring to communities.”
In November 2022, Velocity Clinical Research confirmed the acquisition of multi-site company Egin Research, similarly marking its entry into the UK market. This culminated in an announcement in October 2023 that the company would be opening greenfield clinical research sites in Bristol, Leicester, and Romford as part of its European expansion.
The Polish site is now the company’s tenth site in Europe, with four sites in Germany and five in the UK. The company also has a presence in the US and a tech hub in India.
The newly acquired Polish site is set to be headed up by Parexel’s former global head of site solutions Agnieszka Gackowska as the new head of operations in the region.
Gackowska said: “The presence of a global company that puts patient care at the heart of everything it does, means there are now more career opportunities for local doctors so we do not lose Polish talent to larger markets.”
In recent years, Poland has become an attractive location for clinical trials within Europe. Last month, INmune Bio was able to acquire approval to launch a Phase II clinical trial of XPro for early Alzheimer’s disease in Poland, expanding the trial’s original remit from sites in the UK, Canada and Australia.
