How Centralized Operations Supported 23 Clinical Studies Across 11 Research Sites

Scaling Clinical Research Requires the Right Operational Infrastructure

Clinical research has experienced significant growth over the past decade, attracting increasing interest from institutional and private equity investors. By 2022, 11 of the 25 leading healthcare private equity firms identified by PitchBook had acquired stakes in clinical research companies. This investment has occurred alongside substantial expansion in clinical trial activity: the number of registered clinical trials exceeded 434,000 in 2022, more than three times the number registered a decade earlier. At the site level, this growth has contributed to increasing consolidation, with independent research sites increasingly being assembled into larger networks capable of achieving greater scale and geographic reach.¹

The pace of consolidation has accelerated considerably. Prior to 2014, private equity-backed site networks represented less than 1% of the global Phase II–III clinical research site market. By 2024, approximately 30 private equity-backed site platforms represented roughly 15% of the global market. Despite this growth, thousands of independent research sites remain in operation, suggesting continued opportunity for consolidation and for physician organizations to develop more sophisticated, scalable research capabilities of their own.²

Importantly, investment alone does not create a scalable clinical research enterprise. Private equity firms and physician practice networks may bring capital, established patient populations, geographic reach, and sophisticated business infrastructure, but they do not necessarily possess the specialized operational expertise required to build and manage clinical trial programs. Strategic partnerships with experienced clinical research organizations can bridge this gap by providing the infrastructure, processes, and subject matter expertise needed to establish and scale research operations.

An on-demand service model further supports this growth by allowing organizations to access specialized clinical research expertise and operational capacity on a fixed-fee, per-deliverable basis. Rather than hiring full-time employees in anticipation of future volume, organizations can add capacity as research activity grows—creating a more flexible and cost-effective path from initial program development to a mature, scalable clinical research enterprise.

In this case study, see the impact Attain Partners created for a site network by leveraging our clinical research expertise to deliver this on-demand service model. 

Building Centralized Research Operations Across a Multi-Site Network

The organization had the scale, physician network, patient population, and strategic commitment necessary to build a significant clinical research program. Centralized infrastructure was needed to operate research consistently across a large, multi-state network. Building the program required establishing scalable processes for contracting, budgeting, Medicare Coverage Analysis, financial management, and coordination across participating practices while enabling local sites to remain focused on patient recruitment and study execution.

Creating a Scalable Research Administration Model

Attain Partners became an extension of the organization’s research team, providing the specialized infrastructure and expertise needed to build and scale the program without requiring the organization to develop every capability internally.

Rather than adding fixed overhead in advance of study volume, the organization could access specialized expertise as needed and pay for services on a fixed-fee, per-deliverable basis. This model provided immediate access to experienced clinical research professionals while allowing operational capacity to expand alongside the research portfolio.

Scaling to 23 Clinical Studies Activated Across 11 Sites in the First Year

The partnership enabled the organization to move rapidly from building a research program to operating a scalable, financially productive research enterprise. Within its first year, the network activated 23 clinical studies across 11 sites and generated approximately $1.5 million in clinical research revenue and $500,000 in profit. Just as importantly, the organization established repeatable contracting, budgeting, coverage analysis, and post-award financial processes capable of supporting continued growth—without first building a large internal research administration team.

Clinical Research Program Results

The engagement established integrated research administration across the clinical trial lifecycle, spanning contracting, budgeting, Medicare Coverage Analysis, and post-award financial management. In its first year, the network achieved measurable results across study activation, financial performance, and operational capacity.

Attain Partners – Clinical Research Operations and Administration Experts

Attain Partners provides comprehensive clinical research and contract negotiation services designed to help organizations build, operate, and scale research programs without having to develop every capability internally.

Our clinical research services span the study lifecycle, including feasibility and site selection, regulatory support, study start-up, Medicare Coverage Analysis, CTMS builds, budget and contract negotiation, post-award financial management, revenue optimization, and patient recruitment and retention.

Our specialized contract negotiation services provide additional support across clinical trial and other research agreements, with defined service levels and fixed pricing based on agreement complexity. Together, these capabilities allow clients to access experienced clinical research professionals when and where they are needed, creating flexible operational capacity that can expand with research volume while reducing the need to maintain underutilized full-time resources.

References

1. “The Business of Clinical Trials Is Booming. Private Equity Has Taken Notice.” Journal of Health Economics and Outcomes Research. https://jheor.org/post/1743-the-business-of-clinical-trials-is-booming-private-equity-has-taken-notice.
2. Edgemont Partners. “Clinical Research Site Market Overview.” Edgemont Partners, 11 Jan. 2024. https://www.edgemont.com/insights/clinical-research-site-market-overview/.