The Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) announced that its board of directors has elected John Hubbard, Ph.D., president and CEO of Bioclinica, as 2017 chairman, and John Ratliff, CEO of Covance Drug Development, as vice chairman. Dr. Hubbard succeeds PPD Chairman and CEO David Simmons as chair, and Simmons will remain active on the board.

Prior to becoming Bioclinica’s CEO in January 2015, Hubbard was senior vice president and Worldwide Head of Development Operations for Pfizer and prior to this was group president of ICON's Global Clinical Research Services Division. He has extensive experience in nearly all facets of biopharmaceutical research and development and has led several drug development teams to successful approval and commercialization of new chemical entities. Hubbard received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Santa Clara, a doctorate from the University of Tennessee, and was a NIH postdoctoral fellow in Cardiovascular and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center.

“I look forward to leading ACRO as the unified voice of the CRO industry at this time of tremendous change and opportunity,” said Dr. Hubbard. “I especially want to welcome Medidata into our growing and increasingly diverse membership and my friend Glen de Vries to the ACRO Board.”

ACRO’s successes in 2016 included significant input into the 21st Century Cures Act, expanded engagement across Europe and continued productive interaction with TransCelerate Biopharma through ACRO’s CRO Forum.

ACRO also elected as officers: Maria Kraus, executive vice president of Corporate Development and Strategy at Bioclinica, as treasurer, and Chris Gegelys, general counsel at Covance Drug Development, as secretary.