INC Research, a global phase I to IV CRO, has announced expansion of its Functional Service Provider (FSP) service offering to include investigator payment processing, leveraging the company’s extensive expertise and delivery of customized solutions in this area as well as insights gained from its industry-recognized site relationships. The addition of investigator payment processing to the company’s FSP offering builds on its nearly 20 years of experience in meeting the needs of biopharmaceutical customers worldwide for standalone outsourced services under an FSP model, including Data Management, Medical Writing, Safety and Pharmacovigilance, and Site Contracts.

“INC’s long history in working under the FSP business model, along with our proven track record in delivery of customized payment processing solutions for clinical research sites, are combining to create an exciting new offering for our customers,” said Tara Fitzgerald, president, Clinical Development Services and head of the company’s FSP offering. “We look forward to meeting the strong customer demand for services in this area while continuing to offer our customers a broad range of solutions that fit the way they want to work today—whether it be via a functional or full-service outsourcing model or both.”

Delivery of INC’s Investigator Payment FSP services will be provided through a dedicated business unit led by Victoria Moore, vice president, Investigator Payments, with hub locations in Raleigh, NC; Camberley, U.K.; and Gurgaon, India. The company currently is providing Investigator Payment services for several large customers under both the FSP and full-service models. INC is leveraging the Medidata Payments Cloud, a global site payment technology driven by an integrated Electronic Data Capture (EDC) and Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS), as the foundation for its offering. Medidata Payments automates the clinical site payment workflow, processing high volumes of invoices and complex payment requests quickly and accurately.

Streamlined, on-time, global investigator payments traditionally have been overlooked in the CRO industry as many specialized investigator payment providers lack the resources, technology and global payment execution. Leveraging the insights gained from its strong site relationships across the globe, INC was able to further improve its own processing of investigator payments and in turn offer improved and streamlined investigator payment processing solutions to customers.

Functional service provision has become an increasing and important model to biopharmaceutical customers worldwide for outsourcing of clinical development services. Services typically outsourced under an FSP model include high-volume clinical development tasks that are repetitive and duplicated across many projects. INC Research offers customized FSP solutions to customers, including tactical outsourcing of certain functions on a specific trial as well as strategic outsourcing of an entire department or function such as investigator payment processing. The company's FSP model uses strategic commitment and performance-based measures to improve productivity in key service areas. The end result is greater cost predictability and quality delivery of consistent services.