Clinical Research Institute

What Clinical Research Institute does

Clinical Research Institute (CRI) is a privately held, for-profit contract research organization (CRO) founded in 1985 and headquartered in a single facility at 825 Nicollet Mall, Suite 1135, in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company conducts Phase I, II, III, and IV clinical trials on behalf of pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors across a range of therapeutic areas including vaccines, asthma, allergy, migraine, sinusitis, urticaria, atopic dermatitis, COPD, upper respiratory infections, influenza, and pneumonia. CRI has completed over 1,000 clinical studies in its 35-plus-year history and operates with a lean staff of 11-50 employees including principal investigators, sub-investigators, ACRP-certified research coordinators, regulatory, quality assurance, marketing, recruitment, and financial managers.

CRI's core operational technology is a clinical research operations platform supporting study execution, with the facility equipped with ambient cold centrifuge, -20C and -70C freezers, ECG equipment, secured drug storage, and emergency preparedness infrastructure including proximity to a Level 1 Trauma Center. The institute is led by two board-certified principal investigators, Gary D. Berman, M.D. and Hemalini Mehta, M.D., both certified in Allergy and Immunology and holding Certified Physician Investigator (CPI) designations from ACRP. CRI leverages a 9,000+ patient proprietary research database plus access to 10,000+ active patients through the principal investigators' co-located Allergy & Asthma Specialists, PA private practice, providing a structural patient recruitment advantage.

CRI's business model is professional services-based, generating revenue through per-study contract fees paid by pharmaceutical sponsors for enrollment, procedures, and completion milestones. Sponsors are acquired through direct outreach, website contact, and long-standing reputation-based relationships built over decades. Participant enrollment is conducted through a four-step process (interest form, phone screen, appointment, screening visit) via the company website and phone outreach, with study participation offered at no cost to volunteers and compensation provided for time and travel. The company is independently operated, with no disclosed parent company, outside institutional investors, funding rounds, or acquisition history.

Name

Clinical Research Institute

Legal name

Clinical Research Institute

Website

https://criminnesota.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Clinical Research Institute is a Minneapolis-based, independently operated contract research organization founded in 1985 that conducts Phase I-IV clinical trials for pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors across therapeutic areas including vaccines, asthma, allergy, migraine, and respiratory conditions, leveraging a 9,000+ patient database and board-certified principal investigators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Research Organization (Clinical Trial Site Services)

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Offices of Physicians (62111)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical Trial Site Operations & Study Coordination (HLAGACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Clinical Research & Trial Central Laboratories (HLAFAMAL)

Keywords

• Clinical research services
• Contract research organization
• Clinical trial site
• Phase I-IV studies
• Pharmaceutical research

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Clinical Trial Contract Research: CRI generates revenue by conducting clinical research studies on behalf of pharmaceutical sponsors. Sponsors contract with CRI to perform clinical trials in various therapeutic areas. Revenue is derived from study contracts, typically structured as per-study fees for enrollment, procedures, and completion milestones.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Clinical Research Institute is a contract research organization that conducts Phase I, II, III, and IV clinical trials on behalf of pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors across therapeutic areas including vaccines, asthma, allergy, migraine, sinusitis, urticaria, atopic dermatitis, COPD, URI, influenza, and pneumonia. The institute recruits, screens, and enrolls both healthy volunteers and patients with specific medical conditions, delivering study procedures, data collection, and regulatory-compliant trial conduct from its Minneapolis facility.

Product overview

Clinical Research Institute (CRI) is a premier clinical research organization providing clinical study services rather than a traditional software product company. The organization conducts Phase I, II, III, and IV clinical studies across various therapeutic areas including vaccines, asthma, allergy, migraine, sinusitis, COPD, URI, influenza, pneumonia, and more. CRI offers volunteer enrollment services for clinical studies, with participant screening, medical history documentation, and patient information management. The organization operates from a facility in Downtown Minneapolis and partners with sponsors to conduct clinical research. No distinct branded software products or modules were identified.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clinical Trial Site Services (Phase I-IV) End-to-end clinical trial conduct services for pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors, including study design support, participant recruitment and screening, data collection, regulatory compliance, and quality assurance across Phase I-IV studies in therapeutic areas such as vaccines, asthma, allergy, migraine, sinusitis, urticaria, atopic dermatitis, COPD, URI, influenza, and pneumonia.
• Volunteer Recruitment and Screening Program Structured 4-step enrollment program for healthy individuals and patients with specific medical conditions to participate in active clinical studies, comprising an interest form, phone screen within 3-5 days, on-site appointment, and screening visit with informed consent, medical history, and medication review conducted at the Minneapolis facility.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 clinical studies conducted across Phase I-IV
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Accel Research Sites: Accel Research Sites is a multi-therapeutic clinical research site network operating across the US. Directly comparable as a Phase I-IV clinical trial site operator targeting pharmaceutical sponsors with similar patient recruitment and investigator-led operating model.
• Velocity Clinical Research: Velocity is a PE-backed integrated site network (acquired by GHO Capital) operating multi-therapeutic clinical research sites across the US. Directly comparable as a Phase I-IV clinical trial site operator with similar sponsor relationships and patient recruitment focus.
• Meridian Clinical Research: Meridian is a multi-site clinical research organization conducting Phase I-IV trials across therapeutic areas including vaccines, allergy, and respiratory—directly overlapping CRI's core specialties. Comparable as a site-network competitor with similar business model.
• CTI Clinical Trial & Consulting Services: CTI is a CRO and site network offering Phase I-IV clinical trial services with strong expertise in hematology, oncology, and inflammatory diseases. Comparable as a specialized clinical research service provider targeting similar pharmaceutical sponsors with overlapping therapeutic expertise.

Broad incumbents

• Syneos Health: Syneos Health is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization providing clinical development services including site operations. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering overlapping clinical trial execution capabilities across all phases.
• Medpace: Medpace is a mid-to-large CRO specializing in Phase I-IV clinical development with strong therapeutic expertise in areas overlapping CRI's focus (respiratory, infectious disease). Functions as a broad incumbent that competes for sponsor trial site selections.
• ICON plc: ICON (post-PRA Health Sciences merger) is one of the world's largest CROs offering clinical trial services across all therapeutic areas and phases. Operates as a broad incumbent with global site network that competes with independent sites like CRI for sponsor allocations.
• IQVIA: IQVIA is the largest global CRO offering full-service clinical development, including site management and patient recruitment. As a broad incumbent, it competes with CRI for sponsor contracts but operates at vastly larger scale across all therapeutic areas.
• PPD (Thermo Fisher Scientific): PPD, now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, is a global CRO offering comprehensive clinical development services including site management. Functions as a broad incumbent with global scale that competes with independent research sites for sponsor study placements.

Emerging players

• Flourish Research: Flourish Research is an emerging clinical research site network conducting Phase I-IV trials across multiple therapeutic areas. Comparable as a smaller, growth-oriented site network competitor with overlapping therapeutic focus and similar patient recruitment model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cri_minnesota

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Clinical Research Institute