Alliance for Clinical Research Excellence and Safety

What Alliance for Clinical Research Excellence and Safety does

Alliance for Clinical Research Excellence and Safety (ACRES), founded in 2012 and legally operated as ACRES, Inc., is a U.S.-based private non-profit organization headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with 1-10 employees. Its mission is to apply systems engineering and systems thinking to the structural fragmentation of the clinical research enterprise, aiming to improve interoperability, data integration, safety, and efficiency across drug development. The organization's core offer is the Intelligent HealthScience System (IHSS), a conceptual framework envisioning an integrated ecosystem combining human expertise with machine learning and AI; surrounding it are programmatic offerings including a global Site Accreditation Program for clinical trial sites, the Synergy Forum series (Synergy I in 2015, Synergy II at the National Academy of Medicine in 2022), contributions to the federal Cancer Moonshot initiative, and a public Knowledge Center of publications and learning resources.

The business model is that of a convening and standards-shaping non-profit rather than a product vendor: ACRES generates impact through framework authorship, journal publication (including a 2018 New England Journal of Medicine article on clinical research site accreditation), forum convening, and co-development partnerships with high-credibility institutions such as the National Academy of Medicine, MITRE Corporation, Milken Institute's FasterCures, CDISC, and the Learning Health Community. Founder and CEO Greg Koski brings regulatory standing from his prior role as the first Director of the federal Office for Human Research Protections, and the board is staffed with senior figures from IBM's clinical AI programs, MITRE's Health FFRDC, CDISC's founding leadership, and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and the organization operates without observed venture, equity, or debt funding.

ACRES does not sell a unified software platform; instead, its deliverables are advisory frameworks, hosted convenings, accreditation standards, and publications targeted at clinical research stakeholders, healthcare system leaders, regulatory and policy organizations, and the biopharmaceutical industry.

Name

Alliance for Clinical Research Excellence and Safety

Legal name

ACRES, Inc.

Website

https://acresglobal.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ACRES is a non-profit organization that operates a global Site Accreditation Program for clinical trial sites, convenes Synergy Forums to apply systems thinking to clinical research and healthcare transformation, contributes to initiatives such as the Cancer Moonshot, and develops conceptual frameworks including the Intelligent HealthScience System (IHSS) for integrating research, technology, and care through interoperability and shared standards.

Product overview

ACRES operates as a non-profit organization focused on transforming clinical research through a systems-based approach rather than as a traditional software product company. The organization's offerings consist of the Site Accreditation Program for clinical trial site quality assurance, Synergy Forums (I and II) which are collaborative events advancing systems thinking in healthcare, the Cancer Moonshot Initiative contributions, and the conceptual Intelligent HealthScience System (IHSS) framework. These initiatives are complemented by a Knowledge Center containing publications and learning resources. ACRES' work emphasizes interoperability, shared standards, and integration of research, technology, and compassionate care rather than offering a unified software platform with modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Site Accreditation Program A global system of accreditation designed to improve and ensure the quality, performance, and safety of clinical trial sites through standards and technologies for secure data flow.
• Knowledge Center A centralized resource containing publications, media coverage, and learning resources related to ACRES' work in clinical research transformation and systems thinking.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• National Academy of Medicine (NAM)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 December 2022NAM hosted the Synergy II Forum in December 2022, bringing together 60 leaders to envision an Intelligent HealthScience System; co-sponsored by ACRES and NAM
• MITRE CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 December 2022MITRE co-sponsored the Synergy II Forum, contributing systems engineering expertise and supporting federal health agencies with AI, health IT, and data analytics initiatives
• Milken Institute FasterCurescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 December 2022FasterCures co-sponsored the Synergy II Forum, bringing expertise in health innovation and accelerating research outcomes
• Learning Health CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to mobilize and empower multiple and diverse stakeholders to collaboratively realize a national-scale person-centered continuous learning health system
• CDISCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDISC creates clarity in clinical research by developing and advancing data standards of the highest quality; ACRES works with CDISC on interoperability standards
• Worcester Free Care CollaborativeminorOthersCo-founded by Board Chair Ashish Cowlagi, helping bring fully free, compassionate and culturally sensitive healthcare to uninsured and under-insured patients in central Massachusetts
• Ascentria Care AllianceminorOthersBoard Chair Ashish Cowlagi serves as Vice Chair of Ascentria Care Alliance
• University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Clinical and Translational ScienceminorOthersBoard Chair Ashish Cowlagi serves on the Community Advisory Board for the University of Massachusetts Medical School's Center for Clinical and Translational Science
• Translational Research Informatics Center (Japan)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard member Rebecca Kush serves as a Fellow at Japan's Translational Research Informatics Center

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CDISC: Global non-profit developing data standards now required by FDA and PMDA; an active ACRES partner whose foundational president sits on ACRES' board. Operates in the same interoperability and clinical research standards space with overlapping stakeholder communities.
• Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI): Public-private multi-stakeholder non-profit co-founded by Duke and FDA that drives clinical trial quality and efficiency through consensus-driven recommendations — directly comparable to ACRES as a convener and standards shaper for the clinical research enterprise.
• Drug Information Association (DIA): Global non-profit life sciences membership organization convening stakeholders across the drug development value chain; comparable to ACRES' forum-convening role and its focus on end-to-end clinical research integration.
• Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS): Trade organization representing clinical research sites globally, focused on site sustainability, quality, and performance — overlaps directly with ACRES' Site Accreditation Program and site-level standards agenda.
• Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP): Non-profit membership organization providing workforce certification and standards for clinical research professionals; comparable to ACRES in advancing quality and competence in the clinical research enterprise.
• TransCelerate BioPharma: Industry-funded non-profit with 20+ pharma members focused on streamlining clinical trials through shared solutions and standards; directly comparable mission to ACRES around accelerating drug development and removing clinical research fragmentation.
• Milken Institute FasterCures: Non-profit that accelerates medical research by convening stakeholders across diseases and sectors; co-sponsors the Synergy II Forum with ACRES and operates a directly comparable convening/thought-leadership model in health innovation.
• Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard (MRCT Center): Harvard-affiliated non-profit focused on transforming clinical research through ethics, regulatory science, and global trial design — closely parallels ACRES' systems-thinking agenda and convening role at the Harvard/Cambridge ecosystem level.

Others

• MITRE Corporation: FFRDC operating the Health FFRDC for federal agencies; ACRES partner on the Synergy II Forum with overlapping systems-engineering expertise in AI, health IT, and data analytics. Comparable as an enabling/technical partner rather than a direct competitor.
• National Academy of Medicine (NAM): Host of the Synergy II Forum and one of ACRES' flagship partners; an enabling institution whose convening power legitimizes ACRES' agenda rather than competing with it commercially.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/acresglobal
• Facebookfacebook.com/acresglobal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Alliance for Clinical Research Excellence and Safety