ICON, a world-leading clinical research organisation, has formalised a definitive partnership agreement with Advarra to introduce a new research-ready trial model designed to reshape how clinical trials are conducted. The collaboration brings together ICON’s global clinical trial solutions with Advarra’s established suite of site technologies, aiming to create a more connected and efficient operating framework for studies.
Under the agreement, ICON’s services will be integrated with Advarra’s site CTMSs, eISF, and eSource systems, which are already in use by more than 50,000 investigators worldwide. This includes researchers at 90 of the top 125 academic medical centers and 90 percent of NCI-Designated Cancer Centers. By leveraging Advarra’s Study Collaboration as the central connector to ICON’s proprietary technology, the partnership establishes a shared environment intended to reduce administrative friction, accelerate study startup timelines, and expand participation in clinical trials through the research-ready trial model.
The collaboration also enables Advarra to provide ICON with operational intelligence through Study Collaboration, built on Braid™, Advarra’s data and AI platform. Drawing from insights across its IRB and clinical trial systems, this capability supports improvements in protocol design, forecasting, and study planning, while strengthening site identification and feasibility assessments. With greater visibility into site capacity, workflow dynamics, and historical performance patterns, studies can be structured more realistically and executed with fewer downstream changes.
In parallel, both companies plan to broaden access to clinical trials by enabling more research sites globally to handle increasingly complex study requirements. This includes equipping emerging and research-naïve sites, as well as selected ICON-affiliated locations, with Advarra’s site technology to standardise operations and reduce manual processes. The approach is expected to help sponsors accelerate study startup, diversify site participation geographically, and improve patient recruitment and retention.
Research sites should not have to adapt their operations for every new study or sponsor, and ICON and Advarra are focused on meeting sites where they are, prioritising their needs and removing that burden through this partnership, said Barry Balfe, CEO of ICON plc. By aligning ICON’s workflows with the systems sites already use every day, we’re advancing a more practical and scalable way to run trials that reduces administrative burden on sites.
Advarra’s systems underpin multiple aspects of site operations, from financial management to regulatory compliance and participant workflows. Over the past year, these systems supported more than four billion dollars in trial invoice value, over three million patient visits, and more than two million electronic documents and signatures. Through this partnership, studies can be managed within familiar site systems, allowing seamless integration of study information, training materials, document exchange, and enrollment activity. At the same time, ICON and sponsor teams gain real-time visibility into study progress from startup through execution.
Sites do their best work when they can stay focused on patients and study delivery, not on managing fragmented processes, said Gadi Saarony, CEO of Advarra. By integrating ICON’s technology with the Advarra systems sites already use, this partnership allows sites to work in their native systems, reducing rework, improving consistency, and streamlining workflows. For sponsors, it means trials can move forward with greater speed and confidence, helping promising therapies move through development more efficiently and reach patients sooner.
