Alcanza Clinical Research

As CEO, Carlos Orantes provides leadership and strategic direction for site network. With nearly 30 years of experience within the life sciences industry, his career has included executive leadership, operational management, LEAN Six Sigma process improvement, as well as systems and technology deployment. Most recently, Carlos served as Executive Director, Site Operations for Accelerated Enrollment Solutions, a business of PPD and ThermoFisher Scientific. There, he led the site operations for the Americas site operations in support of the company’s vast global clinical trial network. Prior to joining PPD, Carlos served as Chief Executive Officer of Amplify Clinical and Accel Research Sites, where he developed the business strategy to effectively compete in Phase II-III clinical research involving multi-therapeutic trials and specialty vaccines. He also led activities related to both companies’ asset purchase by private equity. Earlier career positions included 20 years of operational, quality assurance, process improvement and laboratory management roles of increasing responsibility at Covance, now part of LabCorp. Carlos earned a master’s of business administration degree from Old Dominion University, and a bachelor of science degree in biology from George Washington University. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from Six Sigma Academy.

James Clark, MD is Alcanza’s Chief Medical Officer. With 25 years of clinical research experience including serving as Principal Investigator on over 400 clinical trials, Dr. Clark brings a wealth of experience and leadership to our team, patients, and sponsors. As the CMO, Dr. Clark oversees the medical team at Alcanza including Investigators and Sub-Investigators. He is responsible for driving medical strategy and providing clinical support and direction across the Alcanza network. Dr. Clark serves as the Chairman of the Alcanza’s Medical Advisory Board which consists of 20 experienced Investigators as well as members of the Business Development, Quality, and Operation teams. Prior to joining Alcanza, Dr. Clark owned and operated Charlottesville Medical Research (CMR) which specializes in Phase II-IV clinical research, where he led CMR in its growth from 15 to 60+ indications. Dr. Clark specializes in Internal Medicine and has his medical licenses in each of the state’s Alcanza has a research site.

As Vice President of Patient Experience, Claire is responsible for the optimization of patient recruitment and retention strategies across the Alcanza network. With over a decade of in-industry leadership experience, Claire has built fast, effective teams that design modern solutions to recruitment challenges across a broad variety of indications. Combining digital tools with creative methodologies, Claire’s teams create intuitive, patient-centric engagement models that ensure studies succeed with enrollment and generate the best health outcomes possible for patients. As a seasoned subject matter expert in life-sciences, Claire has the ability to move recruitment solutions from idea to execution quickly and seamlessly, developing the infrastructure and leading the teams that propel research forward and get patients the therapies they need.

With nearly 25 years of experience in the research site space, Casey has a long and exemplary career history in pharmaceutical research site services including serving as past President of the Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS), a global organization representing nearly 10,000 clinical research sites in 47 countries within the pharmaceutical industry. Casey began his career leading a large pharmaceutical research site network, Research Solutions. In 2007, he was recruited to join Clinical Research Advantage/Radiant as EVP of BD and successfully led a network of over 75 research sites conducting clinical trials for pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and medical devices. Under Casey’s leadership, several crucial partnerships were formed with major pharmaceutical companies which fueled the company’s rapid growth both geographically and therapeutically. He facilitated the acquisition of two competitors securing the company’s spot as what was at the time the largest clinical research site network in the US. In 2015, Casey and the executive team at Radiant merged with Synexus, a division of PPD. With Casey’s guidance, Synexus continued to expand to 215 global clinical sites in 4 continents and over 15 countries. Casey also served as SVP of Pharmaceutical Relationships at StudyKik, a full-service patient recruitment and retention technology company. Most recently he was the Chief Commercial Officer for CenExel leading the sales and commercial team to become the largest independent wholly-owned site network of 18 sites specializing in both inpatient and outpatient services in the CNS space. Casey is passionate about representing the site voice within the industry while ensuring every research patient’s journey is a positive one. As a thought leader in the industry, Casey is regularly invited to be a keynote speaker and panelist and is often quoted by the leading publications covering the clinical research landscape. In 2020, he was recognized in PharmaVoice as one of the 100 Most Inspiring People in the industry.

Chris Prader is the Chief Information Officer with more than three decades of diverse Information Technology and strategic management experience in leading IT. His career extends not only nationwide, but also globally, as he’s lived and worked internationally throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia. As CIO of Alcanza, Chris oversees the management, integration and usability of […]

As Executive Director, Human Resources, Kara Chase develops and implements the company’s human resource strategies and initiatives across talent management, diversity and inclusion, employee relations, culture and engagement, compensation and benefits, and training and development. Kara has 25 years of human resources experience, including more than 12 years in clinical research.  With an expansive background […]