October 12, 2023 – The Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS), the trade organization representing global clinical research sites, is pleased to announce the 2023 recipients of the prestigious SCRS Eagle Award: Merck as the sponsor recipient and Parexel as the CRO recipient.

Andy Lee, Senior Vice President and Head, Global Clinical Trial Operations at Merck, shared, “Clinical Research is the foundation for developing new therapies for patients. Without dedicated research sites and staff, we are unable to achieve our societal goals. On behalf of all Sponsors, and particularly Merck, we dedicate this award to all of the patients, sites, staff, IRBs, partners, nurses, CRAs and so many others who work tirelessly to meet our collective goals. We all work together to ensure that ‘No Patient Is Left Behind’ – thank you!”

“We are deeply honored to receive this year’s SCRS Eagle Award,” said Teri Karcher, PhD, Executive Vice President, Head of Launch Excellence and Chief Drug Development Officer, Parexel. “Our unwavering commitment to and collaboration with sites is instrumental in our efforts to keep patients at the heart of everything we do. We look forward to our continued work together to improve the clinical research process for the benefit of patients around the world.”

Since 2009, the Eagle Award has celebrated outstanding leadership, professionalism, integrity, passion and dedication to advancing clinical research through strong site partnerships.

Award selection criteria included willingness to collaborate on protocol design and execution, availability of staff to support sites, responsive communication, and fair contracting, budgeting, and payment schedules. The clinical research site community globally ranked companies they had worked with in the past year that they felt exemplified these characteristics. The sponsor and CRO recipients were selected based on the overall number of votes cast by the global site community.

“Consistently listening and working to meet the needs of clinical research sites are truly the core attributes of the SCRS Eagle Award. With nearly 2,500 sites globally participating in the voting process, SCRS is pleased to present this year’s Eagle Award to Merck, as the sponsor recipient and to Parexel as the CRO recipient for 2023,” says Sean Soth, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships at SCRS. “SCRS and the site community will continue to collaborate with industry on improving the clinical enterprise and appreciate the intentionality the Eagle Award recipients place into site sustainability. Congratulations to Merck and Parexel and to every site working to advance clinical research.”

“Facilitating collaboration between sites, CROs, and sponsors to accelerate research is at the core of what we do at Advarra, and we are thrilled to partner with SCRS to present the Eagle Award,” said Elisa Cascade, Chief Product Officer at Advarra. “We know that technology can facilitate stakeholder collaboration in research to improve speed, compliance, and transparency, but the key question is at what cost and level of burden to our sites? Advarra applauds this year’s Eagle Award nominees and winners for their site-centric approach. The industry has made great strides towards simplifying the experience of sites, in parallel to sponsors, CROs, and patients, and we look forward to enabling even greater collaboration in the year ahead.”

The awards were presented at the SCRS Global Site Solutions Summit Eagle Award Gala & Awards Dinner, sponsored by Advarra. Learn more about the Global Site Solutions Summit and Eagle Award at sitesolutionssummit.com.

About the Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS)

The Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS) is the leading advocacy organization dedicated to unifying the voice of the global clinical research site community. Representing more than 10,000 sites in 47 countries, SCRS facilitates industry collaborations and conversations dedicated to site-focused advocacy, education, mentorship and connection. SCRS is an active and influential champion for sites in industry initiatives to ensure that the perspective of sites is heard and valued. Learn more and get involved at myscrs.org. Our voice. Our community. Your success.