If you are planning a respiratory clinical trial in asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease, or other lung conditions, you will want partners with proven respiratory experience, reliable pulmonary function data, and coverage across the UK, EU, and US. This overview profiles respiratory Contract Research Organisations (CROs) with verified respiratory credentials and international reach, ordered by founding year to give context.
The list includes large full-service CROs, newer tech-enabled organisations, and specialist partners focused on biometrics or endpoints. Quanticate is positioned as a biometrics-only CRO that can support respiratory trials alongside, or independently of, full-service providers.
We reviewed third-party rankings of respiratory and general medicine CROs, then validated each company through primary sources such as company websites, press releases, and reputable databases. To be included, a CRO needed evidence of respiratory experience, a footprint covering at least one of the UK, EU, or US, and corroboration from at least two independent sources. We focused on clinical development and biometrics; preclinical-only providers were excluded. Founding year, headquarters, and key M&A events since 2020 were cross-checked to keep naming (for example, Fortrea vs Covance, PPD vs Thermo Fisher) clear and current.
Parexel is a full-service CRO founded in 1982 and headquartered in the Raleigh area in North Carolina, with long-standing operations across the UK and wider Europe. It runs respiratory trials within its general and internal medicine portfolios, drawing on large site networks and central services for asthma, COPD, and other lung indications.
IQVIA’s CRO heritage stems from the former Quintiles organisation founded in 1982, now combined with IMS Health data and analytics under the IQVIA brand. Headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, it supports respiratory studies worldwide and can use real-world data and analytics to inform feasibility, endpoint selection, and exacerbation-based outcomes in complex respiratory programmes.
PPD was founded in 1985 and now operates as the clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific, headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. It offers dedicated respiratory CRO services covering asthma, COPD, and pulmonary fibrosis, supported by global site infrastructure and integrated central laboratory capabilities that can be important for inhaled therapies and device–drug combinations.
ICON is a global CRO founded in 1990 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with substantial delivery across the UK, EU, and US. Its respiratory work sits within internal medicine and immunology, and its 2021 acquisition of PRA Health Sciences broadened both operational scale and respiratory experience, particularly for large Phase II–III programmes.
Quanticate is a global biometrics-focused CRO with origins in 1994 and headquarters in Hitchin, UK. It provides biostatistics, statistical programming, clinical data management, medical writing, and pharmacovigilance across UK, EU, and US studies. Quanticate has supported many respiratory trials where complex endpoints, longitudinal lung function data, and regulator-ready outputs are critical, often working alongside a separate full-service operational CRO or sponsor internal teams.
The Micron Group is a CRO founded in 1996 with offices in the UK, USA, and South Africa. It offers full clinical outsourcing, data management, and consultancy services, and lists respiratory among its core therapeutic areas, alongside cardiovascular and neurology. This makes it a useful mid-size option for sponsors seeking a CRO with both UK and international experience in respiratory studies.
Ethica CRO is a full-service CRO headquartered near Montreal and founded in 2002. It focuses on ethical clinical research across drugs, biologics, devices, and natural health products. Ethica runs respiratory studies and reports experience in asthma, cystic fibrosis, and COPD, positioning it as a mid-size respiratory CRO option for sponsors needing North American leadership with international reach.
Celerion is an early-phase specialist CRO established in 2010, with clinical facilities in the US and UK. It has a specific respiratory disease focus within its applied translational medicine offering, including early-stage work that informs dose selection, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics for respiratory compounds. Sponsors may use Celerion for Phase I–II respiratory trials before transitioning to another CRO for larger late-phase programmes.
Syneos Health was formed in 2017 through the merger of INC Research and inVentiv Health, creating an integrated clinical and commercial organisation headquartered in Morrisville, North Carolina. It runs respiratory trials within broader general medicine portfolios and may be of interest to sponsors planning for both clinical execution and later commercial activities in competitive respiratory markets.
Fortrea became an independent global CRO in 2023 after the spin-off of Labcorp’s clinical development business, which had previously operated under the Covance brand. Headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, Fortrea supports respiratory trials alongside other therapeutic areas, drawing on the legacy infrastructure and experience built under Covance while operating as a standalone company.
Selecting a respiratory CRO is about finding the right fit between respiratory experience, geographic reach across the UK, EU, and US, and an operating model that suits your endpoints, timelines, and budget. Large full-service CROs bring extensive infrastructure and site networks. Mid-size organisations can offer more tailored support. Specialist partners strengthen critical elements such as spirometry endpoints or biometrics.
If you need a biometrics-led partner to strengthen the statistical backbone of your respiratory trials while your CRO executes at site, Quanticate provides biostatistics, data management, statistical programming, safety, and medical writing across UK, EU, and US programmes. Submit an RFI today.