Securing the CRA talent pipeline in the US

A multinational pharmaceutical company, of ICON’s functional services provider clients, approached our team to resource CRAs in the US. After working with ICON for several months on successfully filling experienced CRA requisitions, ICON recommended the Bridge Program. This program allows organisations to easily add qualified CRAs to their teams to resource their studies and to balance out the experienced and newer CRAs within the team.

High demand for experienced CRAs has been a significant challenge for the industry for multiple years. It was precipitated by the rising scale and complexities of clinical trials, heightened regulatory scrutiny and the significant increase in competition for trial patients in specific geographies. Sponsors typically struggle to hire experienced CRAs with the specific required skillsets and often end up incurring unnecessary expenditure. Every client is different and looking for specific criteria to fit into their team and their studies. The client wanted to have more control of finding the right people to embed within their organisational culture and to have a sustainable pipeline of CRAs.

CRA Bridge Program participants may be new graduates or more experienced career changers with some, or no, industry experience. During the program they develop their CRA capabilities and we identify the candidates with the key competencies and skills to fit seamlessly within the client’s team. ICON selected candidates that were the best fit for the sponsor. In addition to the core competencies of collaboration, curiosity and strong communication skills, we focused on the cultural fit. The Bridge CRAs undertook client-specific training and mentoring to enable them to have the necessary technical CRA training and to be effective in client program from the outset. Ultimately this reduces the cost to the client due to diversified CRA seniority.

For sponsors, the CRA Bridge program offers several advantages.

• Stability and continuity throughout the trial: Bridge CRAs stay in their roles longer before seeking advancement
• Faster onboarding and seamless integration: Bridge CRAs are ready to learn without fixed working habits
• Consistent and reliable execution of trial activities: Compared with more experienced CRAs, Bridge CRAs have equally high ratings across various measured skillsets
• Greater efficiency, productivity and cost-effectiveness: Bridge CRAs often achieve equal or higher performance with less than two years’ experience
• Enhanced team and leadership skills: Experienced CRAs support the Bridge CRAs as mentors, positively impacting engagement and career growth for both new and senior CRAs

Bridge Program CRAs make up 57% of the sponsor’s team and have received very positive feedback. The Bridge CRAs’ commitment has reduced the turnover within the workforce. Accessing the program enabled the sponsor to scale up or down quickly and efficiently. Because the CRAs are trained to the sponsor’s specific needs they are effective in their roles immediately, reducing costs and saving time during ramp up.

“I’m excited to share my experience partnering with ICON on their CRA Bridge Program. This collaboration has enhanced our CRA program. It has allowed our Senior CRAs to grow by mentoring others, while also infusing fresh determination and enthusiasm into the CRA role on our clinical studies. This approach has helped us to improve our outsourced CRA team."

- Executive Director, Clinical Program Optimisation