CRO

Ex-IQVIA executive takes the reins at patient recruitment specialist Clinerion

Clinical trial patient recruitment specialist Clinerion has been on a network expansion spree recently, and it has just tapped a new CEO to help push for further growth, with a string of new partnerships underway.

Ian Rentsch, most recently an executive at IQVIA, will take over from current CEO Ulf Claesson, who will retreat to a director position on the company’s board.

Rentsch joined IQVIA in 2012 when it was still Quintiles. He was first head of Latin America Sales, and went on to lead the EMEA emerging biopharma segment for three years until transitioning a year ago as global demand and business operations head of an end-to-end strategic alliance. Now, Rentsch has left the full-service CRO giant to lead a company focused on patient data analytics and clinical trial participant recruitment services.

Clinerion utilizes electronic health records from a large global network of hospitals it maintains to help trial sponsors identify patients, as well as generate real-world evidence and market access analyses.

“It’s an opportune time in the life sciences industry for a company like Clinerion. The company’s focus on electronic health data and innovative technologies allows it to reimagine how clinical research is conducted and how sites and patient communities around the world become engaged,” said incoming CEO Rentsch in a statement. “A new era is coming and a data-driven approach illuminates the way to a promising future for human health.”

RELATED: Clinerion adds 60M U.S. patients to clinical trial recruitment system

He joined the Swiss company at a time of fast expansion. As of the end of February, over 180 million patients from 60 hospitals scattered in Brazil, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and the U.S. live in its network, according to company spokesperson Le Vin Chin.

Further footprint growth is underway, as the company plans to reach every continent and almost double the number of accessible patients to 310 million by the end of 2018.

“This global footprint, balanced in terms of geography and in terms of medical specialization, will allow our clients a comprehensive, varied and representative view of patients and trial sites around the world for all of their needs,” Chin told FierceCRO.

Although the company sees its presence in some emerging markets as an advantage to reach geographic patient populations otherwise difficult to uncover or access, it is not only focused on these regions. For example, it recently gained access to over 60 million patients in the U.S. through a new collaboration with Provisio. Chin told FierceCRO the company will also announce new partnerships in some “traditional” geographies later this year.