Merge
Merge is a privately held clinical study communications firm founded in 2003 in Raleigh, NC that produces multimedia patient recruitment and retention campaigns for major CROs and pharmaceutical sponsors across 13+ therapeutic areas, including oncology and rare diseases.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersRaleigh, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Merge does
Merge LLC is a privately held, full-service clinical study communications company founded in 2003 and headquartered in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. The firm partners with major Contract Research Organizations (CROs) and pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors to support patient recruitment and retention for clinical trials, with the stated objective of accelerating study timelines, maximizing budgets, and exceeding enrollment goals. Its service offering is professional in nature rather than software-based, covering strategic recruitment planning, multimedia campaign development, interactive design, video and audio production, customized message development, global study campaign implementation, patient retention programs, individual site support, research and media support, and global translation and localized production. The company claims coverage across 13+ therapeutic areas, including oncology, rare diseases, neuroscience, metabolic, cardiovascular, autoimmune, allergies, gastrointestinal, infectious diseases, musculoskeletal, respiratory, psychiatry, ocular, and pediatrics.
The business model is project-based professional services revenue, with no publicly disclosed pricing, no software platform, and no API or integrations. Go-to-market is sales-led and consultative, anchored by a single named Account Director (Lindsay Jackson) who fields capabilities presentations and inbound inquiries; the firm also maintains organic presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (Twitter) plus a website showcasing therapeutic areas and services. There are no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, no subsidiaries, no patents, no certifications, and no AI/ML capabilities referenced, and the only known external partnership is a January 2026 collaboration with Medical Murray supporting early-stage medical device innovation. Revenue is not disclosed, and the firm operates with 11-50 employees.
Merge firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Merge
- Legal name
- Merge LLC
- Website
- https://mergellc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Merge is a privately held clinical study communications firm founded in 2003 in Raleigh, NC that produces multimedia patient recruitment and retention campaigns for major CROs and pharmaceutical sponsors across 13+ therapeutic areas, including oncology and rare diseases.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Merge industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Clinical Study Communications / Patient Recruitment Services
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (541810)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Patient Recruitment, Site Feasibility & Trial Enablement CROs (HLAGAAAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Clinical Trial Patient Recruitment & Retention (HLAGACAD), Clinical CROs (Phase I–IV) (HLAGAAAA)
Keywords
Where Merge is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Raleigh
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Merge business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Clinical Study Communications Services: Project-based professional services for patient recruitment and retention campaigns, serving CROs and sponsors. Services include strategic planning, multimedia production, and global campaign implementation.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Merge product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Merge is a full-service clinical study communications company that produces multi-media patient recruitment and retention campaigns for pharmaceutical sponsors and Contract Research Organizations (CROs). The company combines strategic recruitment planning, interactive design, video and audio production, customized message development, patient retention programs, individual site support, and global translation services to help study teams recruit and retain patients worldwide.
Product overview
Merge is a full-service clinical study communications company that offers a comprehensive suite of patient recruitment and retention services. The company operates as a single integrated service offering rather than a software platform, providing Strategic Recruitment Solutions, Multimedia Study Campaigns, Interactive Design, Video and Audio Production, Customized Message Development, Global Study Campaign Implementation, Effective Patient Retention Programs, Individual Site Support, Research and Media Support, and Global Translation and Production Services. Since 2003, Merge has partnered with CROs and sponsors to help study teams recruit and retain patients worldwide across multiple therapeutic areas.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Strategic Recruitment Solutions
- Multimedia Study Campaigns
- Interactive Design
- Video and Audio Production
- Customized Message Development
- Global Study Campaign Implementation
- Effective Patient Retention Programs
- Individual Site Support
- Research and Media Support
- Global Translation and Production Services
Companies that use Merge
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Merge technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Merge partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Medical MurrayminorMedical Murray and Merge formed a partnership to support early medical device innovation. The partnership aims to combine Merge's clinical study communications expertise with Medical Murray's medical device capabilities to help advance early-stage medical device development.
- CROscoreMerge partners with major Contract Research Organizations to provide patient recruitment and retention campaign services. The company positions itself as a strategic partner supporting CRO operations on clinical studies.
- SponsorscoreMerge works directly with pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors to support their clinical study teams. The partnership model focuses on accelerating timelines, maximizing budgets, and exceeding recruitment goals.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Merge competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Trialbee: Patient recruitment and engagement platform for clinical trials, combining data-driven targeting with campaign services. Directly competes for the same CRO/sponsor recruitment budgets as Merge, though with a stronger technology layer.
- Clariness: Global patient recruitment and feasibility services firm operating ClinLife, a patient-facing recruitment platform. Competes with Merge for international trial sponsors and CRO recruitment engagements.
- BBK Worldwide: Long-standing patient recruitment and retention agency for clinical trials, offering multimedia campaign production and global support. Highly comparable to Merge in scope, customer base (CROs and sponsors), and service model.
- Antidote: Digital patient recruitment matching company connecting sponsors with patients via an online clinical trial search experience. Overlaps with Merge's patient recruitment offering from a tech-enabled angle.
Emerging players
- Curebase: Decentralized clinical trial software and services provider supporting patient recruitment and retention through virtual sites. Adjacent emerging player reshaping how recruitment communications are delivered.
- Mendel.ai: AI company using clinical and molecular data to match patients to oncology trials. Represents the emerging tech-enabled approach that could displace traditional recruitment agencies like Merge in oncology.
Broad incumbents
- Parexel: Major global CRO with patient recruitment and retention services as part of its full-service trial delivery portfolio. Comparable in customer base (sponsors) and therapeutic breadth.
- IQVIA: Global CRO and clinical technology provider with significant patient recruitment operations, including analytics-driven site and patient identification tools. Indirectly competes with Merge by bundling recruitment into broader CRO contracts.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (PPD): Owner of PPD clinical research services, a top global CRO with in-house patient recruitment and engagement solutions. Competes indirectly by absorbing recruitment communications within broader trial delivery offerings.
- Syneos Health: Large full-service CRO and contract commercial organization with in-house patient recruitment capabilities. Represents a broader incumbent that CROs and sponsors may use instead of specialist agencies like Merge.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Merge social profiles
Digital presenceMerge financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Merge leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Merge funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Merge M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Merge
What does Merge do?
Merge is a full-service clinical study communications company that produces multi-media patient recruitment and retention campaigns for pharmaceutical sponsors and Contract Research Organizations (CROs). The company combines strategic recruitment planning, interactive design, video and audio production, customized message development, patient retention programs, individual site support, and global translation services to help study teams recruit and retain patients worldwide.
Is Merge a public or private company?
Merge is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Merge founded?
Merge was founded in 2003. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Merge based?
Merge is headquartered in Raleigh, United States, in the North America region.
How does Merge make money?
One revenue line is on record: clinical Study Communications Services.
Who are Merge's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Trialbee, Clariness, BBK Worldwide and Antidote. Emerging players are Curebase and Mendel.ai. Broad incumbents are Parexel, IQVIA, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PPD) and Syneos Health.
Does Merge have an API?
No public API is recorded for Merge.
What industry is Merge in?
Merge's product category is Clinical Study Communications / Patient Recruitment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAAAI, Patient Recruitment, Site Feasibility & Trial Enablement CROs, with a secondary code of HLAGACAD, Clinical Trial Patient Recruitment & Retention. Its NAICS code is 541810 and its SIC code is 7311.