Episode 8: Breaking Barriers in Clinical Trials - Paul Evans, CEO of Velocity Clinical Research

In this witty, wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Paul Evans, President and CEO of Velocity Clinical Research, sits down with Patty to take stock of three decades on the front lines of clinical research. Raised in a coal mining community in South Wales, Paul followed an unlikely path from biomedical engineering and Britain’s atomic energy authority into running some of the earliest research site networks, figuring it out as he went. 

You’ll hear Paul and Patty dig into the stubborn problems that have followed research sites for decades, from investigator training and a blizzard of disconnected technology to the way sites get paid. They also explore how integrated site organizations are changing the equation, whether the industry is making the most of them, and what the next wave of evolution could look like. This episode explores what it will take to give research sites the support they need, and why the site model may be on the verge of its own transformation. 

What you’ll hear about 

• Why do research sites still face the same challenges as decades ago? 

• How can the industry better train and retain new principal investigators? 

• Why does trial technology so often create burden instead of relief? 

• Why is paying research sites on time still such a struggle? 

• What makes integrated site organizations different from traditional research sites? 

• How will site organizations evolve over the next five to ten years? 

This episode is intended for clinical operations and site management leaders, offering a clear perspective on the evolving role of site organizations and how to partner with them more effectively. 

Timestamps 

00:10 – Growing up in a Welsh coal mining town 

04:05 – From atomic energy to clinical trials 

07:45 – How a new technology opened the door to research 

10:30 – Learning by doing: building an early site network 

13:25 – Groundhog Day: the challenges that never went away 

16:00 – The site technology blizzard 

21:10 – Why the industry hasn’t fixed what it knows is broken 

26:40 – How integrated site organizations tackle old problems 

30:20 – The long wait for site payments 

35:30 – Consistency, quality, and managing risk at scale 

38:20 – A new voice for multisite research corporations 

40:55 – Is pharma getting the most from site organizations? 

41:35 – The evolution of site organizations 

45:20 – How COVID changed the game for dedicated research sites 

47:25 – The next decade for sites and site organizations 

49:50 – A Super Bowl prediction put to the test 

Guest Biography 

Dr. Paul Evans is the President and CEO of Velocity Clinical Research, an integrated site organization dedicated to making clinical trials faster and more efficient. A biomedical engineer by training, he has spent more than three decades in the site business, from helping found one of Europe’s first site management organizations to building global site networks at major CROs. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the newly formed Association of Multisite Research Corporations, where he champions a stronger, more sustainable future for research sites.