Martine Dehlinger-Kremer, VP of global medical and regulatory affairs at SynteractHCR, was elected president of the European CRO Federation, which represents 300 CROs in 18 countries.
Dehlinger-Kremer has served as the chair of the Pediatric Working Group within EUCROF since 2008 and will remain on that job after resuming responsibilities as president of EUCROF. Stefano Marini, who can’t stand again as president because he has already served the permitted three terms of six years, will stay on the organization’s exec team as vice president.
Founded in 2005, EUCROF now represents over 300 CROs with over 20,000 employees across Europe, and one of Dehlinger-Kremer’s tasks is to ensure its further expansion, even to some non-EU countries. EUCROF is already heading in that direction, with new memberships from Turkey, Ukraine and Israel. The organization is also recognized by regulatory authorities as the representative for European-based CROs and is regularly consulted to weigh in on changes regarding rules and regulations.
But the recent Brexit brouhaha might add a little bit of a twist to the new leadership. “While no one knows all of the effects of the U.K. secession from the EU so far, with a directive to date of ‘business as usual’ from leading U.K. and EU authorities, we anticipate and wish, whatever the outcome, to maintain the U.K.’s relationship with, and membership in, the Federation,” Dehlinger-Kremer told FierceCRO in a written response.
She is also planning to improve the service and the knowledge of CROs, “as they are increasingly looked to by sponsors to improve and advance clinical trials,” said Dehlinger-Kremer, while pointing out pressure from patent expiry, generic competition, revenues decreases, as well as new technologies like social media and Big Data.
Holding a Ph.D. from the University of J.W. Goethe in Frankfurt, Germany and a Master’s degree from the University Moulin de la Housse in France, and having been based in the Munich, Germany office throughout her employment with SynteractHCR, the newly appointed Dehlinger-Kremer has more than 30 years of experience in the clinical research industry, especially in Europe.
According to SynteractHCR, she has contributed to the development of many orphan drugs and devices, with a profile of participation in over 100 new drug applications and marketing authorization applications. She is also a member of the European Medicines Agency’s “EU Clinical Trials Portal and Data Base” task force intended for implementation of the EU Clinical Trials Regulation.
Other members of the newly formed executive team at EUCROF include re-elected Yoani Matsakis as treasurer and Christophe Golenvaux as a board member, and Simon Lee who was elected for the first time as secretary.
The new team marks the end of a long reign of Dagmar Chase, one of the founding members of EUCROF, who decided to step down as vice president after 11 years on the exec team. She will continue with the association as chair of the Clinical Trial Legislation Working Group.