Velocity becomes one of largest site organisations in Europe in addition to being the largest in the U.S.
Adds Oncology to therapeutic capability

LONDON, Jan. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Velocity Clinical Research (“Velocity”), the leading multi-specialty clinical sites business, today announces its further expansion in Europe, adding five sites in Poland after acquiring multi-site network KO-MED Centra Kliniczne and two in Germany, having acquired The Pulmonary Research Institute at the LungenClinic Grosshansdorf and KLB Gesundheitsforschung Lübeck.

Velocity’s growth is accelerating across Europe, with 17 locations in the U.K., Poland and Germany. The company is now one of the largest site organisations in Europe in addition to it being the largest sites business in the United States.

Dominic Clavell, European General Manager for Velocity, said, “Our European network is now larger than the size of Velocity’s network when it was sold to GHO Capital. Velocity is building an integrated network of sites that can change the paradigm and we have the size and scale where we can recruit enough patients, either for entire studies or contribute significantly to country targets in Europe. This dramatically speeds up site start-up times, saving considerable time for CROs and Sponsors.”

The acquisition of KO-MED is Velocity’s first foray into Oncology research, which accounts for roughly 40-50% of clinical trials globally. KO-MED has been the leading multi-site network in Poland since 2020, having enrolled over 9,000 patients into clinical research.

Marek Konieczny, MD PhD, President of KO-MED’s Board, said, “I have been involved in clinical research for over 25 years and there are always new challenges which stimulate me to find new approaches. In most cases, the participant of a clinical trial benefits from taking part, which is of great importance, especially in oncological trials. I’ve seen first hand when under my supervision, patients who previously had very little chance of surviving now live longer, enjoying more time with loved ones.

“Being a part of Velocity is a wonderful opportunity to merge capacities with the best clinical trials network in the world. Integration rather than affiliations allows us to unite with common values. In my new role as Vice President Corporate Development (CEE) and Medical Director (CEE) together with my expertise of building out a site network, I intend to support the development of Velocity in Poland and in Europe more widely.”

The Pulmonary Research Institute has carried out over 300 studies since opening 25 years ago, leading research in bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis and pulmonary fibrosis. Anne-Marie Kirsten, MD PhD and Henrik Watz, MD PhD both join Velocity as principal investigators (PIs), being leaders in Pulmonary research in Europe.

Dr Kirsten said, “Since the beginning of our career as internal medicine doctors and pneumologists, we realised that only clinical research holds the potential for innovation. The therapeutic progress over the last 15 years in COPD, pulmonary fibrosis and asthma is a major achievement towards an improved quality of life of our patients, which we substantially contributed to.”

Dr Watz added, “With the backbone of Velocity we clearly see the unique opportunity for faster recruitment, use of common resources and infrastructure and the collaboration within a family of experienced and highly professional set of researchers. As doctors, we will be able to focus more on our patients and their needs because administrative tasks will be handled by the common infrastructure backbone Velocity provides.”

KLB Gesundheitsforschung Lübeck is located in the heart of the city of Lübeck, conducting clinical studies for respiratory diseases since 2008.

Andrea Ludwig-Sengpiel, MD PhD managing partner of KLB, commented, “We are undergoing a structural change in our working world. Digitalization, changing demands on employees and their redefined needs are important issues that can be better addressed through integration into a large network. Velocity brings together very experienced and highly professional study sites with comparable standards of quality and scientific work, creating many synergies from which all participants can benefit. This is what makes integration into this network so attractive. We are pleased to be part of an international company.”

The new sites join Velocity’s existing four sites in Germany, one in Poland and five in the U.K., of which three are newly-opened greenfield sites. Velocity has almost 100 locations globally and access to more than 220 principal investigators and one million patients.

Velocity’s sites are fully integrated via a centralised infrastructure and common technology backbone, allowing for superior patient enrolment and consistent, high-quality data delivery. As a result, CROs and biopharma companies can benefit from Faster and simplified access to patients in North America and Europe.

About Velocity Clinical Research

Velocity is the leading integrated site organisation for clinical trials. With nearly 100 sites and more than 220 investigators, Velocity partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to research new drugs, medical devices, diagnostics, and combination products that could improve human health and wellbeing. Velocity offers unified research site solutions to efficiently provide the right patients, investigators, and research staff for clinical trials across the U.S. and Europe.

The company also operates a technology hub in India, where it is unlocking a new era in clinical research by developing innovative systems to leverage expansive site, patient, and historical performance data. To learn more about how Velocity delivers high-quality data, exemplary patient care, and unprecedented efficiency for clinical trials at any scale, visit VelocityClinical.com

About KO-MED
KO-MED Clinical Centers is a network of modern and dynamic clinical trial sites that enrol patients from all over Poland into clinical trials. Our mission is to carry out clinical trials that provide patients with an opportunity to regain health and contribute to the development of medicine. We have been running our business for 20 years and have completed hundreds of clinical trials. https://komed-ck.pl/en/about-us/

About Marek Konieczny, MDPhD
Dr Konieczny is a specialist in cardiology and internal medicine. He is the founder of the first and largest network of clinical study sites in Poland - KO-MED CK, encompassing both private research facilities within research and teaching hospitals, research institutes, and large hospitals. In developing this network, he drew inspiration from best practices in the United States, visiting numerous research centers. He established collaboration with the Medical College of Wisconsin and has been involved as a principal investigator and co-investigator in over 200 clinical study projects. Recognized for achieving the best recruitment results not only in Poland and Europe but also globally, he has been entrusted with prestigious roles as a national coordinator, earning trust backed by numerous audits and inspections, including those by the FDA, highlighting the highest quality present in KO-MED CK.

About The Pulmonary Research Institute (PRI)
The Pulmonary Research Institute at the LungenClinic Grosshansdorf was founded 25 years ago. Under the joint leadership of Dr. med. Anne-Marie Kirsten and Dr. med. Henrik Watz, they have conducted well over 300 studies and their work has been included in over 250 publications. In addition to the core competencies in the COPD area, the Pneumological Research Institute carries out studies in areas such as bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis and pulmonary fibrosis. https://pulmoresearch.org.

Dr. med. Anne-Marie holds a medical degree from the University of Hamburg with a doctoral thesis focusing on nitric oxide production in human airways. After graduating she worked at the University of Mainz, Dept. of Internal Medicine and became the Head of Pulmonary Research Institute office at Krankenhaus Grosshansdorf. Since 2008 she has been the managing director of PRI.

Dr. med. Henrik Watz studied medicine at Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany, specialising in pulmonary diseases. He gained additional medical qualifications from Kompetenzzentrum für klinische Studien, Bremen and in Düsseldorf. He was a physician at Pulmonary Research Institute at Krankenhaus Grosshansdorf before becoming managing director at PRI in 2008. As a researcher, he has clinical experience in Bronchial carcinoma, healthy volunteers Asthma, COPD, Sarcoidosis, Lung fibrosis.

About KLB Gesundheitsforschung Lübeck
Since 2008, KLB Gesundheitsforschung Lübeck GmbH has been conducting clinical studies in the area of basic research and therapy for respiratory diseases in order to research new active principles and diagnostic procedures for bronchial asthma, hay fever, allergies, smoker's lung/COPD and bronchiectasis. https://www.klb-luebeck.de

Dr. med. Andrea Ludwig-Sengpiel is managing partner of KLB Health Research Lübeck. Since 2001, she has conducted more than 180 phase I-IV clinical trials in the indications of bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, COPD, sarcoidosis, pulmonary fibrosis, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and bronchiectasis. She graduated from the University of Hamburg with a medical degree and was a research physician at Pneumologisches Forschungsinstitut am Krankenhaus Großhansdorf before becoming the managing director of KLB.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8796f707-164e-4a65-9c5a-3f0c99074f39

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