Josef von Rickenbach of PAREXEL International Elected 2013 ACRO Chairman

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Association of Clinical Research Organizations is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has elected Josef von Rickenbach, founder, Chairman and CEO of PAREXEL International, as 2013 Chairman and Ciaran Murray, CEO of ICON, as Vice Chairman.

“With a growing emphasis on the use of ‘big data’ in research, privacy continues to be an area of focus for global CROs operating in Europe, the United States and other regions”

“I am pleased to again lead an organization whose members contribute to the development of virtually every new medical product that benefits patients worldwide,” said Mr. von Rickenbach. “ACRO and its members play a leading role in advocating for a sound global regulatory environment to promote safe, ethical, high-quality clinical research. At the same time, we are engaged with our clients, regulators, patient groups and other stakeholders to drive innovation in the drug development process.”

Mr. von Rickenbach is a founding Board member of ACRO and this is his second term as Chairman. Also elected as officers were: Diarmaid Cunningham, General Counsel of ICON, as Secretary; and James Winschel, CFO of PAREXEL, as Treasurer.

Recognizing the growing need to balance the free flow of research data with individual privacy concerns, ACRO also announced the formation of a Global Data Protection and Privacy Committee, chaired by Uwe Fiedler, Global Privacy Officer at PAREXEL.

“With a growing emphasis on the use of ‘big data’ in research, privacy continues to be an area of focus for global CROs operating in Europe, the United States and other regions,” said Doug Peddicord, PhD, Executive Director of ACRO. “This committee joins other permanent ACRO committees that focus on regulatory and scientific affairs, research ethics, legal and government affairs, and communications. We look forward to working with Josef, Ciaran and the ACRO membership as we tackle these important issues in 2013.”

About ACRO

The Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) represents companies that provide a variety of specialized services that support the development of new pharmaceuticals, biologics and medical devices. The association provides an active voice for the CRO industry globally. Through its member companies, ACRO helps improve the quality, efficiency and safety of biomedical research. ACRO member companies employ approximately 75,000 professionals worldwide and annually conduct more than 11,000 clinical trials involving nearly two million participants in 115 countries. For more information, please visit www.acrohealth.org. Twitter @acrohealth. YouTube @ACROHealthChannel.