What Does Vertex Look For When Selecting A CRO?

By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader magazine

Peter A. DiBiaso is the head of clinical business operations for Vertex Pharmaceuticals and responsible for the leadership of clinical business operations in support of Vertex’s global development portfolio. This multidisciplinary group is comprised of several departments including study planning and performance, clinical site services, and strategic sourcing. The overall focus of the clinical business division is on early study planning, reliable start up, and effective process adoption. DiBiaso’s current R&D role and previous experience with Pfizer and Shire, place him in an ideal position to educate contract research organizations (CROs) as to what pharmaceutical and biotech companies look for during the CRO selection process. Life Science Leader magazine posed 11 questions to DiBiaso in an effort to gain additional executive insights around the growing trend of strategic partnering between sponsors and CROs.