In an effort to educate the public, media and policymakers about clinical trials and the growing role of CROs in the drug development process, the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) has launched a YouTube channel @ACROHealthChannel.

"Increasingly, the ACRO member companies constitute the global drug development infrastructure," said John Lewis, ACRO’s vice president of public affairs. "With a footprint now in 115 countries and responsibility for annually conducting more than 11,000 clinical trials involving two million participants, we have an obligation to engage and educate our various constituencies about issues effecting clinical research. These topics range from ensuring human subject protections to cultivating favorable regulatory and economic environments that promote more efficient drug development."

The first two videos on ACROHealthChannel feature 2012 ACRO Chairman Jeff McMullen, president and CEO of PharmaNet/i3, discussing the association's agenda for the year, and Neil McCollough, vice president of global quality and compliance at PPD, discussing issues in bioethics and the globalization of research.