Accovion, an independent, European, full-service CRO headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, has established a new subsidiary in Lyon, France, as it continues its expansion across Europe. Together with offices in Italy, Poland, Russia, Romania, Spain, Czech Republic and the U.K., Accovion now is able to present itself with eight subsidiaries and overall coverage of 20 European countries.

Ivana Waller, chief operating officer of Accovion Group, said, “France represents a key strategic territory in terms of conducting clinical trials in Europe and, therefore, the new French subsidiary reinforces our mission to better serve our clients by offering a broader European footprint. The rationale for setting up the company specifically in Lyon is based on the fact that this region has a high concentration of pharmaceutical and biotech companies, as well as various related support companies engaged in life sciences. This provides us with proximity to our clients, access to experienced talent pool, abundant clinical research sites as well as access to key opinion leaders.”

The local entity will be headed by Dr. Olivier Humbey, who was appointed country director, France, in November. Humbey not only will be spearheading the company’s activities in France, but also will support the strategies of the entire Accovion Group.