MAC Clinical Research
MAC Clinical Research is a UK-headquartered, full-service global CRO that owns 8 dedicated research sites, an MHRA-accredited Phase 1 unit, and a 250,000-volunteer database, serving pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors across CNS, psychedelic, and early-phase neuroscience trials.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersBlackpool, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What MAC Clinical Research does
MAC Clinical Research is a UK-based, full-service Contract Research Organisation that delivers end-to-end clinical trial services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies globally. The company owns and operates 8 dedicated research centres in the UK and an MHRA-accredited Early Phase Unit in Manchester (held continuously since 2016), supported by a global network of contracted investigator sites spanning Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. Its service offering covers the full clinical lifecycle including project management, clinical operations, regulatory affairs, biometrics, pharmacovigilance, medical monitoring, GMP manufacturing and pharmacy, clinical pathology, bioanalytical services, PK/PD analysis, and metabolomics.
The platform is differentiated by its owned-site model combined with proprietary technology assets, including the CliniSafe concomitant-medication checking system (New Zealand patent granted 2013, SCRIP Award 2010) and the MAC EnVision Patient Engagement platform, which leverages a 250,000+ volunteer database and an AI-integrated recruitment software platform supported by a purpose-built national Recruitment Contact Centre. Specialised capabilities include Psychedelic Testing Suites (9 psychedelic studies completed), a Sleep Laboratory with polysomnography expertise, and Memory Assessment Research Clinics focused on dementia and Alzheimer's. These assets position MAC as one of Europe's largest CROs with particular depth in CNS, neuroscience, and psychedelic research.
MAC generates revenue through professional-services contracts with pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors, supplemented by managed-services revenue from its GMP Pharmacy and bioanalytical laboratories. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, and the company sells primarily through direct enterprise field sales teams with thought-leadership support from podcasts, newsletters, webinars, and industry conferences. Notable named customers include Atai/Beckley, Initiator Pharma, Kariya Pharmaceuticals, Gilgamesh Pharma, and Newleos Therapeutics, predominantly in early-stage biotech. The company is privately held, founder-led (CEO Dr Mark Dale), and operates as MAC Research Limited.
MAC Clinical Research firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MAC Clinical Research
- Legal name
- MAC Research Limited
- Website
- https://macplc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- MAC Clinical Research is a UK-headquartered, full-service global CRO that owns 8 dedicated research sites, an MHRA-accredited Phase 1 unit, and a 250,000-volunteer database, serving pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors across CNS, psychedelic, and early-phase neuroscience trials.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MAC Clinical Research industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Contract Research Organisation (CRO) Services
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Medical Laboratories (621511), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Clinical Trial Site Operations & Study Coordination (HLAGACAE)
Keywords
Where MAC Clinical Research is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Blackpool
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices30 records
Markets served
MAC Clinical Research business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Clinical Research Services: Full-service contract research organisation providing end-to-end clinical trial services including project management, clinical operations, regulatory affairs, biometrics, pharmacovigilance, and medical monitoring for pharmaceutical and biotech companies
- Dedicated Research Site Services: Owning and operating a network of dedicated research sites in the UK providing patient recruitment, retention, and clinical trial delivery services
- GMP Manufacturing & Pharmacy: Pharmaceutical manufacturing services including GMP pharmacy for clinical trial IMP production, clinical pathology, bioanalytical services, PK/PD analysis, and metabolomics
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
MAC Clinical Research product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MAC Clinical Research is a full-service, global Contract Research Organisation that provides end-to-end clinical trial services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors. The company owns and operates a network of dedicated research sites across the UK and an MHRA-accredited Early Phase Unit in Manchester, supported by a proprietary volunteer database of over 250,000 registered participants. Its offering spans project management, clinical operations, regulatory affairs, biometrics, pharmacovigilance, medical monitoring, GMP manufacturing, bioanalytical services, patient recruitment, and specialised neuroscience and psychedelic trial capabilities.
Product overview
MAC Clinical Research operates as a full-service, global Contract Research Organisation (CRO) with a platform-plus-services architecture. The company owns and operates a network of Dedicated Research Sites across the UK, supported by an MHRA-accredited Early Phase Unit in Manchester. Core services span the complete clinical trial lifecycle including clinical operations, regulatory affairs, biometrics, pharmacovigilance, and pharmaceutical services. Specialized offerings include a Sleep Laboratory, Psychedelic Testing Suites, and Memory Assessment Research Clinics. The company provides patient recruitment through its MAC EnVision Patient Engagement platform using AI-integrated technology. GMP Pharmacy Manufacturing offers pharmaceutical production capabilities. A proprietary software product, CliniSafe, provides concomitant medication checking. The portfolio also includes digital solutions, remote clinical trial support, adaptive trial designs, and metabolomics services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MAC: Behind The Trials: A video podcast series featuring conversations with MAC experts on clinical research topics
- CliniSafe
- MAC EnVision
Products and services
- Full-Service CRO Services End-to-end clinical trial services including project management, clinical operations, regulatory affairs, biometrics, pharmacovigilance, vendor management, feasibility, and medical monitoring for pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors.
- Dedicated Research Sites Fully owned and operated network of 8 dedicated clinical research sites across the UK providing patient recruitment, retention, and trial delivery with direct sponsor oversight.
- Early Phase Unit (Phase 1)
Quantifiable outcome
- 80 people Clinical Research Services department providing full CRO services
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use MAC Clinical Research
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
MAC Clinical Research technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
MAC Clinical Research partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Newleos TherapeuticscoreMAC Clinical Research reached a key milestone dosing first patient in Phase 1b study sponsored by Newleos Therapeutics investigating NTX-1955 for Generalised Anxiety Disorder.
- Atai/BeckleycoreMAC Clinical Research announced positive topline results from AtaiBeckley's exploratory Phase 2a clinical trial evaluating an investigational compound for Social Anxiety Disorder.
- Gilgamesh PharmacoreMAC Clinical Research partnered with Gilgamesh Pharma in successful completion of Phase 2a clinical trial for Major Depressive Disorder with positive topline results announced.
- Initiator PharmacoreMAC Clinical Research serves as full-service CRO partner and funding partner for Initiator Pharma's Phase 2a vulvodynia trial (IP2015). MAC entered a convertible credit agreement to support the trial's delivery. Study is being conducted at MAC's UK research sites exploring safety, tolerability, and early signs of efficacy using a crossover design.
- Kariya PharmaceuticalscoreMAC Clinical Research successfully delivered Phase I clinical trial for KP405, a brain-penetrant GLP-1/GIP analogue designed to slow progression of Parkinson's disease. Study confirmed KP405 was safe, well-tolerated and demonstrated behaviour consistent with GLP-1 drugs linked to positive outcomes in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's research.
- ParatusminorAustralian clinical site network company with multiple sites on East coast of Australia offering early and late phase clinical trials. Jude Warburton met with Paratus during AusBiotech 2023 to establish new relationships.
- UniSc Clinical TrialsminorAustralian clinical site network company with multiple sites on East coast of Australia. Visited two clinical sites in Brisbane and met their clinical teams during AusBiotech 2023 networking.
- Scientia Clinical ResearchminorFIH 32 bed site located in Sydney, keen to collaborate with MAC. Met during AusBiotech 2023 conference.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
MAC Clinical Research competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- ICON plc: Global top-5 CRO providing full-service clinical development, labs, and consulting. Competes with MAC for biotech and pharma study awards across all phases, with broader geographic and therapeutic coverage.
- Parexel International: Large global CRO (now private-equity owned) offering end-to-end clinical development. Competes with MAC for full-service biotech mandates and offers broader geographic and operational scale.
- IQVIA: World's largest CRO and life sciences services provider. Overlaps with MAC across full-service clinical operations, biometrics, and lab services, but operates at vastly greater scale and breadth.
- Charles River Laboratories: Major CRO and preclinical/research-models provider with established early-phase clinical services. Comparable to MAC in lab services, early-phase and bioanalytical offerings, and biotech customer base.
Direct peers
- Hammersmith Medicines Research: London-based Phase I/early-phase CRO operating a dedicated clinical pharmacology unit. Directly comparable to MAC's Manchester Early Phase Unit for First-in-Human and Phase I studies in healthy volunteers.
- Medpace: Mid-sized, profitable full-service CRO focused on small and mid-sized biotech sponsors across all phases. Comparable to MAC in customer profile (biotech-centric) and therapeutic-area depth, with a broader geographic footprint.
- Richmond Pharmacology: UK-based specialist CRO with MHRA-accredited Phase I unit focused on early-phase clinical pharmacology. Closely matches MAC's early-phase clinical pharmacology, FIH, and CNS-adjacent capabilities.
- Ergomed plc: UK-headquartered, mid-sized full-service CRO with particular strength in oncology and rare disease. Comparable to MAC as a similarly-sized, UK-rooted CRO competing for European biotech Phase I–III work, and historically known for its own site network model.
- Worldwide Clinical Trials: Mid-sized global CRO with strong CNS/neuroscience and rare disease franchises. Comparable to MAC in therapeutic-area mix (CNS-heavy) and positioning as a mid-tier alternative to mega-CROs.
- Novotech: Asia-Pacific-headquartered mid-sized CRO with global expansion into the US and Europe. Comparable to MAC as a regionally-rooted, mid-sized full-service CRO competing globally with biotech sponsors.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MAC Clinical Research social profiles
Digital presenceMAC Clinical Research compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance9 records
MAC Clinical Research financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MAC Clinical Research leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
MAC Clinical Research funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MAC Clinical Research 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 MAC Clinical Research
What does MAC Clinical Research do?
MAC Clinical Research is a full-service, global Contract Research Organisation that provides end-to-end clinical trial services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors. The company owns and operates a network of dedicated research sites across the UK and an MHRA-accredited Early Phase Unit in Manchester, supported by a proprietary volunteer database of over 250,000 registered participants. Its offering spans project management, clinical operations, regulatory affairs, biometrics, pharmacovigilance, medical monitoring, GMP manufacturing, bioanalytical services, patient recruitment, and specialised neuroscience and psychedelic trial capabilities.
Is MAC Clinical Research a public or private company?
MAC Clinical Research is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was MAC Clinical Research founded?
MAC Clinical Research was founded in 2002. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is MAC Clinical Research based?
MAC Clinical Research is headquartered in Blackpool, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does MAC Clinical Research make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Clinical Research Services are the primary driver. The others are dedicated Research Site Services and GMP Manufacturing & Pharmacy.
Who are MAC Clinical Research's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are ICON plc, Parexel International, IQVIA and Charles River Laboratories. Direct peers are Hammersmith Medicines Research, Medpace, Richmond Pharmacology, Ergomed plc, Worldwide Clinical Trials and Novotech.
Does MAC Clinical Research have an API?
No public API is recorded for MAC Clinical Research.
What industry is MAC Clinical Research in?
MAC Clinical Research's product category is Contract Research Organisation (CRO) Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGACAE, Clinical Trial Site Operations & Study Coordination. Its NAICS code is 54171 and its SIC code is 8731.