Organized to bring together the sponsor, CRO (contract research organization), SMO (Site Mangement Organization), ARO (Academic Research Organization), and Investigator Site communities, a conference entitled "10th Contracting & Negotiating Clinical Trials," to be held September 9-10, 2002 in San Francisco, CA, is organized to address every conceivable topic involved in contracting/budgeting/negotiating clinical trials, and will detail ways to enable both pharma and service providers to negotiate satisfactory contracts. The conference is being offered by Strategic Research Institute.

Topics to be covered in depth include effective site budget negotiations, indemnification, successful patient recruitment outsourcing, evaluation payment schedules, developing (reviving, enhancing) education and training programs for clinical research, and building a successful sponsor-CRO partnership.

Featured speakers include representatives from Amgen, AstraZeneca, Pepper Hamilton, Quintiles, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline R&D, Pharmacia, Eli Lilly & Company, PPD Development, Radiant Research, University of Nebraska, University of California (SF), and the University of Texas Medical Branch.

A hands-on post-conference workshop entitled "Negotiating for Results: Achieving "Win-Win-Win Agreements for Sponsors-CROs & Sites" is scheduled for all attendee--for the first time at no additional cost--to create a realistic negotiating environment and will focus on training all parties to juggle the multiple variables simultaneously and strike the best deals possible. Attendees will experience first hand in a "risk-free" environment, an actual negotiation addressing a series of issues that typically arise in a given clinical trial setting. Attendees will have the opportunity to experience reversal roles where the sponsor will assume a role of a CRO or a SMO, or a CRO will assume a role of a sponsor or site.

To register and/or request the agenda in PDF format please contact Glenn Pascual, the conference organizer at Strategic Research Institute, at gpascual@srinstitute.com