Innovative Trials has appointed Anita Owen as its first-ever Chief Operating Officer (COO). In her new role, Owen will lead the company’s operational strategy, bringing extensive experience in clinical operations and leading large global teams, particularly in the US and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions.
Owen brings more than three decades of clinical research experience to the role, having begun her career as a Clinical Research Associate (CRA) for Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) before moving into more senior management positions for organisations including Schering-Plough, Chugai Pharma Europe, INC Research and PRA Health Sciences. Prior to joining Innovative Trials, she spent four years at US-based clinical research organisation (CRO) Caidya, first as Vice President and Head of Clinical Trials Monitoring and then as Senior Vice President for Clinical Operations.
Owen said: “It can be all too easy in clinical research to focus on targets and managing red tape and lose sight of the fact that clinical trial subjects are real patients facing their own challenges.
“We must never forget that effective patient recruitment and retention are key determinants of whether a clinical trial succeeds or fails and services centred around patients’ needs are pivotal to this.”
Innovative Trials is a global provider of clinical trial patient engagement, recruitment and retention solutions, and Owen will report directly to the company’s co-founder and CEO Kate Shaw.
Kate Shaw, co-founder and CEO of Innovative Trials, said: “Appointing [Anita Owen as] our first-ever Chief Operating Officer is a major milestone for the company as we focus on our next phase of growth. She brings a huge amount of clinical research and operational leadership experience to our company, along with a proven track record of managing high-performing teams. Just as importantly, she shares our belief that patients must always be at the heart of clinical research.”