Ecron Acunova strengthens EU presence

In 2009, Ecron Acunova further strengthened its Eastern European presence by launching direct operations in Russia and entered into a strategic alliance with Japanese firm, Tokyo CRO
Ecron Acunova, an integrated CRO promoted by Manipal Education and Medical Group, and Acunova Life Sciences with Ecron, a German CRO, combines the strengths from two expert CROs from two different continents serving established clinical research geographies.

The company provides end-to-end services for phase I-IV clinical research, including clinical trial management, clinical data management, PK/PD services and central lab. Ecron is doing the largest number of stem cell clinical trials in India. As of now, the company is progressing with five trials in stem cell area.

European expansion

In November this year, the company strengthened its Eastern European presence further by opening a new office in Moscow, Russia. The company maintains that through its new office in Russia, Ecron Acunova will boost its current success rate in delivering client focused services. With its strong presence and local expertise, the company manages the most challenging time, costs and quality demands of its clients in the key clinical trial markets of the region.

Foray into Japanese market

A few days before the entry into Russia, the company entered into a strategic alliance with one of the leading Japanese CRO, Tokyo CRO. This alliance provides global life science companies access to India, Japan and the European countries for clinical research.

Commenting on the development, Prasanna, says, “Japan is a key market and requires specific requirements for the approval of a new drug application. Often, the opportunity to market the drug is missed due to the specificity for procedure of the approval in Japan. As a full service CRO, we have established our expertise across EU, the US and India. With the sponsors increasing their focus on drug development programs in Japan, it is imperative for us to establish our operations through experts like Tokyo CRO in the region.�

US expansion

In August 2009, Ecron Acunova signed another strategic alliance with the US-based Essential CRO. This alliance is said to provide the global life science companies with access to 18 countries in key emerging sectors for clinical research. The alliance is executed through a combination of facilities of Essential CRO in Illinois, and Ecron Acunova in New Jersey.
The company's thirst for global outreach doesn't stop here. Ecron Acunova is in talks with a major pharmaceutical company from Japan to establish similar collaborations. The company is also planning for an expansion in the US.

Ajeesh Anand in Bangalore