Merge

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.

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

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

• Clinical study communications
• Patient recruitment services
• Patient retention programs
• Multimedia campaign production
• Clinical trial support

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Medical MurrayminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 January 2026Medical 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.
• CROscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMerge 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.
• SponsorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMerge 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/MergeComm
• Facebookfacebook.com/MergeLLC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/merge-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Merge