Czech Republic, a lucrative market for Sponsors, and CROs – interview with Pavel Prokopec

According to the “Report Industry Clinical Trials in Poland. Possibilities to increase the number and scope of trials in Poland.2021" – commissioned by INFARMA and POLCRO, The Czech Republic places itself in the 17th position globally in the Clinical Trial Market Share in 2019 in all Phases, surpassing countries like the Netherlands and Israel. The country is a lucrative market for Sponsors, and CROs to conduct Clinical Trials there. We sat down with Pavel Prokopec – the new Country Head of Pratia Czech Republic, to talk about the Czech Market and his role in the evolution of our Platform for innovative medicine in the country. Pratia is grounding its footprint in the Market via its acquisition two years ago of the local player CCR with sites in Brno, Pardubice & Prague.

Pratia: Pavel, congratulations on your new role. You are now the new Country Head of the Czech Republic, an excellent promotion from Operations Director. How does that make you feel?

Pavel Prokopec: It feels good for many reasons. It's a new challenge, and I am ready for it. I started a close cooperation with our Sites in the Czech Republic over half a year ago and worked on several studies. At that time, Pratia acquired 51% of the CCR, and since this summer, Pratia has been 100% owner of the CCR Clinics, which are fully integrated into the global site network in six European Countries. Being part of the Neuca Group gives us access in the Czech Republic to exciting companies in its portfolio and its technology, from which we can benefit. Together we are building a platform for innovative medicine, which unites Patients, Sponsors, CROs, and Medical professionals for a better future in Clinical Trials.  

Pratia: What challenges do you see in the Czech Republic that our Partners and Patients need to overcome?

Pavel Prokopec: Our main challenge or even goal in the Czech Republic is, first of all, to expand our expertise in different therapeutic areas. The future is in oncology, hematology, and onco-hematology. CCR, with 15 years of expertise, has done a great job setting the ground in Clinical Trials in our country. Now my goal is to expand this experience to benefit our Partners and Patients more significantly.
We also want to continue our expansion in the key Therapeutic Areas, which are vital for our Patients in the Czech Republic, such as oncology, CNS and gastroenterology, to give them a possibility for greater access to innovative medical care.
We are here to support our local and global Partners and give them the best service they have become accustomed to over the years when collaborating with our sites in Pardubice, Brno, and Prague. We listen to their needs and bring solutions that can work both on a global and local level. We have different Patient Recruitment strategies with high retention and low dropout rates. Over 100K Patients trust us, and we are in close contact with them thanks to our Principal Investigators, Physicians. If it were not for our Medical Professionals who are substantively and methodologically explaining to Patients the aspects of Clinical Trials, we would not have had such success.
Our Partners, both locally and globally, have access to a more significant amount of research sites with huge Patient populations and with an array of Therapeutic Areas. Do you know that globally we cover 85% of all Therapeutic Areas? The mixed site model offered by Pratia is very agile, which can bring multiple benefits to our Partners.

Pratia: As part of a platform, I imagine our Sites will benefit from the technology it offers. What is the future of Clinical Trials in the Czech Republic? 

Pavel Prokopec: Technology is the future in Clinical Trials. It is an added value for all of us. It gives more transparency, data accuracy, and less paperwork; at the end of the day, it is also eco-friendly. It saves time for all stakeholders: Patients, Medical Professionals, Sponsors & CROs. Following digitalization and data processing trends, we are investing as a group in multiple technologies to ensure that the data quality is improved and less prone to human error. Our Platform is already Hybrid and Decentralized Trials ready. This means that this would be less hassle for the Patients. They would not need to visit the Sites that often, as they would be able to do their check-ups from home, and thanks to our Staff in numerous regions, with one click of the button, they could submit the results of their check-ups, analysis. This way, the data we receive from the Patients can be measured remotely, and quality checked.

Pratia: It sounds fascinating to be part of an era where Patients' wellbeing is paramount in taking part in Clinical Trials. What is your message to Patients and Medical Professionals In the Czech Republic? 

Pavel Prokopec: Our philosophy and approach are to connect Clinical trials to all key people. We are starting from Patients, Physicians, Sponsors, and CROs. We want to work together on innovative and improved treatments for a better future in health. My vision is to work with all stakeholders as wide as possible and as close as possible in an efficient, most comfortable way, thanks to our experienced, loyal, trustworthy Staff and the state-of-the-art technology we currently have in our hands.
The Czech Republic is a great country to do Clinical Trials. As a small country, it has scored 16th in the world rankings in the amount of Clinical Research conducted. The Medical Professionals here are very well educated, meticulous, and curious about the latest trends in Medicine. Our Sites are located conveniently in central locations and well connected with the local health care systems. In general, the environment is welcoming for Sponsors and CROs to conduct their trials here, and we, as Pratia, are here to support them. 

Pratia: So the future is…

Pavel Prokopec: The future is looking quite promising. We are expanding our portfolio of Therapeutic Areas thanks to partnerships with the most prominent Principal Investigators in the country. We are exploring new Site models, as well as enhancing the expertise in our new clinics. Currently, we are working with dozens of highly qualified Physicians in our three clinics. This number will grow thanks to the new possibilities that Pratia will offer as a global site network. We are constantly working on on-time Clinical Trial deliveries. Over 100K Patients and Partners trust us and have very high satisfaction rates. In Pardubice alone, we had over 80 audits and controls that were successful. We have a good, solid reputation and continue recruiting patients in multiple studies.

Do you want to conduct Clinical Trials in the Czech Republic? Contact Pavel Prokopec or check out our offer.