International Clinical Trial Center Network.

What International Clinical Trial Center Network. does

International Clinical Trial Center Network (ICN) is a Zurich-headquartered, non-profit membership network founded in September 2015 that connects leading academic and government-based clinical trial centers (CTUs/CTCs) across more than 23 countries and 5 continents. The organization has grown from 10 founding members to over 30 institutional members, including Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit, HKU-CTC, Münchner Studienzentrum, Kyoto University Hospital, Singapore Clinical Research Institute, Baim Institute for Clinical Research, and CTC Zurich. ICN operates without a formal legal entity on a decentralized basis, governed by a Steering Board with a rotating Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson drawn from member institutions.

ICN's core offerings are coordination, knowledge exchange, and harmonization services rather than software products. The service portfolio comprises three member-facing lines: free initial consulting for Principal Investigators planning international investigator-initiated trials, followed by optional chargeable intensive consulting; Data Management & Coordination including CRF/database design, EDC deployment, multilingual help desk support, data cleaning, and cross-functional monitoring; and tailored clinical research training covering IITs, GCP, study design, regulatory submissions, data management, statistics, and quality control. Four permanent workgroups (Standards, Data, Informed Consent, Communications) produce harmonized frameworks for contract terms, data ownership, consent approaches, and member engagement. The network also runs an annual symposium, AGMs, steering board meetings, member-exclusive webinars, and joint publications in peer-reviewed journals.

ICN's business model is a hybrid of free membership access and bilateral fee-for-service contracting. There are no formal membership dues; payable services are contracted and settled directly between providing and consuming partners rather than through a centralized billing entity. GTM is community-led and event-driven: new members are admitted via application and Steering Board approval, with engagement sustained through webinars, symposia, workgroups, and quarterly newsletters. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the organization has no parent company, no external shareholders, and no recorded funding rounds.

Name

International Clinical Trial Center Network.

Legal name

International Clinical Trial Center Network

Website

https://icn-connect.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

International Clinical Trial Center Network (ICN) is a Zurich-based non-profit membership network founded in 2015 that connects 30+ academic and government clinical trial centers across 5 continents, providing consulting, data management, training, and harmonization services for investigator-initiated trials.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Research Services

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Electronic Data Capture (EDC) Platforms (HLACAOAA)

Keywords

• Clinical trial coordination
• Investigator initiated trials
• Clinical research training
• Data management services
• Clinical trial consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Services: ICN operates as a network without formal financial obligations from members. Services are contracted and settled bilaterally between providing and consuming partners. The network provides free initial consulting services to investigators, with potential chargeable intensive consulting following the initial free consultation.
2. Consulting Services: Free preliminary consultation for Principal Investigators intending to initiate investigator initiated trials in international settings. Initial free service may be followed by chargeable, more intensive consulting.
3. Training Services: ICN members offer tailored and customized training programs covering clinical research operations, investigator initiated trials, GCP, regulatory submissions, study design, data management, statistics, and quality control. Non-ICN members may also access part of the service portfolio.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ICN is a multinational membership network that delivers clinical research support services through its member institutions, including free initial consulting for Principal Investigators, chargeable intensive consulting, data management and coordination for international studies, and tailored clinical research training. Services are coordinated through four workgroups covering Standards, Informed Consent, Data and Communications, and are delivered under bilateral contracts between providing and consuming partners.

Product overview

ICN is a multinational network platform connecting academic and government-based clinical trial centers across 5 continents. The organization offers a portfolio of services including consulting for principal investigators, data management and coordination, and clinical research training. Additionally, ICN facilitates collaboration through four specialized workgroups (Standards, Informed Consent, Data, and Communications) and hosts an educational webinar series. ICN services support both academic/investigator-initiated trials and industry-sponsored trials. The network operates without a formal legal entity, with payable services contracted and settled bilaterally between providing and consuming partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consulting for Principal Investigators Free short consulting service offered to investigators planning international investigator-initiated trials, covering trial feasibility, trial design, sample size considerations, regulatory requirements and site selection. Initial free consultation may be followed by chargeable, more intensive consulting.
• Data Management & Coordination International study project management and technical oversight services including consultation on CRF design, database design, Electronic Data Capture deployment, logistical deployment and training to study sites, local language help desk support, data cleaning, cross-functional monitoring for data cleanliness and integrity, and facilitating manuscripts and sub-study analysis.
• Clinical Research Training Comprehensive tailored and customized training programs focusing on Investigator Initiated Trials (IITs), covering international regulation, study design, roles and responsibilities, study documents, trial planning, trial conduct, data management, quality control, monitoring, safety and translational research topics. Accessible to ICN members and, in part, to non-members.

Quantifiable outcome

• Joint publications including international surveys on CTU infrastructure harmonization and COVID-19 impact on clinical research
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CRGo (Clinical Research Governance)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 November 2023Joint CRGo World Conference & ICN Symposium held on November 29, 2023 in Hong Kong in hybrid mode. This was an exceptional event bringing together clinical research governance professionals and ICN members for knowledge exchange and collaboration.
• ECRIN (European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuenchner Studienzentrum (ICN member) collaborates with ECRIN at European level. ICN facilitates effective and successful planning and conduction of multicenter research projects through ECRIN connection.
• SCTO (Swiss Clinical Trials Organisation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical Trials Center Zurich (ICN member) collaborates with SCTO to facilitate effective and successful planning and conduction of multicenter research projects.
• KKSN (German Network Coordination Centers for Clinical Studies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuenchner Studienzentrum (ICN member) collaborates with KKSN at national German level, strengthening the academic clinical trial network.
• ICH (International Council for Harmonisation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICN submitted joint feedback for the ICH Reflection Paper on Patient-Focused Drug Development. Collected feedbacks were summarized and will be considered in guidance development.
• World Health OrganizationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMoscow Research Institute NIIOZMM collaborates with WHO as part of its international scientific cooperation activities. ISM Clinical Trial Center in Cameroon is designated as one of four reference laboratories for Neglected Tropical Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• EATRIS (European infrastructure for Translational Medicine): European research infrastructure offering translational medicine capabilities (biomarkers, GMP manufacturing, imaging) across academic centers. Overlaps with ICN's clinical research enablement agenda but focuses on translational rather than trial operations.

Broad incumbents

• TransCelerate Biopharma: Industry-led consortium of 20+ biopharma companies harmonizing clinical trial processes, training, and standards. Operates in the same standards-harmonization and training space as ICN but from the sponsor side rather than the academic CTU side.
• NIHR Clinical Research Network (UK): UK government-funded infrastructure supporting clinical trials across the NHS. A larger, publicly funded analog to ICN's academic CTU coordination model with extensive training, site management, and study delivery services.
• CTSA Program (NIH Clinical and Translational Science Awards): NIH-funded consortium of ~60 US academic medical centers advancing clinical and translational science. Much larger in funding scale than ICN, but a comparable institutional network coordinating CTU-style capabilities within a national footprint.

Direct peers

• ECRIN (European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network): Pan-European clinical trial infrastructure network that, like ICN, coordinates academic CTUs across countries, supports multinational trial management, and harmonizes clinical research standards. Already a named ICN partner via Münchner Studienzentrum.
• F-CRIN (French Clinical Research Infrastructure Network): French national infrastructure network coordinating academic clinical research across disease-specific and methodological components. Highly comparable to ICN's mission of harmonizing and supporting multinational multicenter trials.
• SCTO (Swiss Clinical Trials Organisation): Swiss national platform coordinating clinical trial units — the most direct domestic peer to ICN, founded in 2011 around the same mission of harmonizing CTU services, training, and supporting investigator-initiated trials.
• Singapore Clinical Research Institute (SCRI): ICN Steering Board member serving as an academic clinical trials coordinating center for Singapore and the region. Its dual role — both a national CTU and a network convener — closely mirrors ICN's hub-and-spoke model.
• CRGo (Clinical Research Governance) Network: Clinical research governance network that co-hosted the CRGo World Conference & ICN Symposium 2023 with ICN in Hong Kong. Closely aligned in mission around clinical trial governance and standards harmonization.
• KKSN (Koordinierungszentren für Klinische Studien Network): German network of coordinating centers for clinical studies at academic medical centers. Functions as a national sibling of ICN, focused on trial coordination, quality standards, and GCP-compliant infrastructure across multiple institutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/11265052

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Clinical Trial Center Network.