Verum.de, a German-based CRO, has opened a new office in Carlsbad, Calif.

The company opened the office to make its clinical trial services more readily available to clients in the U.S. and North America. By conducting clinical trials with Verum in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, clients will benefit from faster patient enrollment, more affordable trials and the ease of working with a CRO with regional expertise that practices Western standards for clinical trials and bridges cultural differences.

Kristi Clark, an industry veteran, will be managing the new U.S. office, in charge of day-to-day operations, new business acquisition, project management and marketing. Clark has experience in global project management and more than 20 years of pharma industry experience, having worked at both large and mid-size CROs, including Quintiles, PAREXEL and Synteract. Her prior experience included a nearly two-year stay in the Czech Republic opening an office in Prague.

Verum is experienced in working with American pharma and biotech companies and as a sub-contractor to CROs not present in the CEE region. The company can assist with registering drugs for commercial use in CEE countries and provides full logistic service, something other CROs often cannot do. Verum offers therapeutic specialties in cardiovascular, neurology, psychiatry, CNS, oncology and pain, among others.

"I founded this company on Western principles and our longevity is proof of our hard-work, diligence and attention to detail," explained Christian Sacher, CEO of Verum. "We are well-versed in running trials in Central and Eastern European and former Soviet bloc countries because in many cases we were the first to do so; our goal is to bring more client trials to CEE countries so they can see the difference faster enrollment and regional expertise provides."

The company was founded and is still privately owned and driven by Christian Sacher and Jutta Minkner (CFO), who have more than 25 years of experience running clinical trials. In 1992, Verum started operations in CEE countries, including some countries that were untouched by clinical trials.