What International Research Network does

International Research Network (IRN) is a privately held Site Management Organization (SMO) and Home Care Services provider headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was established in 2020 as a spin-off of Comac Medical Ltd., a full-service CRO founded in 1997 with 380+ full-time employees, with the explicit purpose of addressing the need for patient-sourcing techniques and centralized site management across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). IRN sells B2B clinical trial site management services to pharmaceutical companies and Contract Research Organizations (CROs), aiming to reduce study timelines and costs while improving recruitment and quality metrics.

IRN's product portfolio is organized around six integrated service modules: Feasibility & Site Selection, Study Management, Site Augmentation, Home Care Services, Regulatory Consulting, and Patient Recruitment & Retention. Operationally, the company coordinates clinical site managers, coordinators, nurses, and physicians across its own offices and a network of affiliated sites. Underlying "infrastructure" is not software-based but rather a partnership network — 700+ partnering institutions, 2,000+ partnering investigators, and 8 million patients on file across 18 countries in CEE and North America. IRN states it has delivered 200 completed clinical trials, achieved top recruiter status on more than 60 multicenter trials, reached 95% of recruitment targets on time, activated sites on average within 30 days of approval, and achieved database lock within four weeks of last-patient-last-visit. Three sites have been FDA-inspected with No Action Indicated (NAI) letters.

IRN operates a professional services revenue model: pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, contracts are project-based, and customer acquisition is led by an internal business development team targeting pharmaceutical companies and CROs through direct enterprise sales and industry presence. The company carries out clinical operations in its own name across 18 markets — including Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, Georgia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Albania, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, and the United States — while drawing on the broader 25-year clinical research track record of its parent, Comac Medical Ltd.

Name

International Research Network

Legal name

International Research Network

Website

https://irn-clinical.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

International Research Network is a privately held Bulgarian Site Management Organization (SMO) and Home Care Services provider, serving pharmaceutical companies and CROs with site management, patient recruitment, regulatory consulting, and home-care clinical trial services across 18 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Trial Site Management Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Site Network Operators & SMOs (HLAGACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Patient Recruitment, Site Feasibility & Trial Enablement CROs (HLAGAAAI), Site Identification & Feasibility (HLAGACAB), Clinical Site Start-Up & Activation (Regulatory/Ethics/Contracts) (HLAGACAC)

Keywords

• Clinical trial site management
• Site management organization
• Patient recruitment services
• Regulatory consulting
• Home care nursing

Headquarters

HQ city

Sofia

HQ country

Bulgaria

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Site Management Services: SMO services to pharmaceutical companies and CROs including feasibility and site selection, study management, site augmentation, patient recruitment and retention, regulatory consulting, and home care services. Revenue generated through project fees for clinical trial support services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

International Research Network is a Site Management Organization (SMO) and Home Care Services provider that delivers clinical trial site management services to pharmaceutical companies and Contract Research Organizations (CROs). The company operates a site alliance network spanning 700+ partnering institutions and 2,000+ investigators across 18 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and North America, offering feasibility and site selection, study management, site augmentation, home care nursing, regulatory consulting, and patient recruitment and retention services aimed at reducing study timelines and costs.

Product overview

International Research Network is a Site Management Organization (SMO) and Home Care Services provider offering a comprehensive suite of clinical trial services. The company operates as a site alliance network providing services to pharmaceutical companies and CROs. Its core product portfolio consists of six integrated service modules: Feasibility & Site selection (for trial strategy and site identification), Study management (for end-to-end trial oversight), Site Augmentation (for supplemental site support), Home Care Services (for at-home patient care during trials), Regulatory consulting (for regulatory affairs support), and Patient recruitment & retention activities (for patient enrollment and engagement). These services work together to reduce study timelines and costs while improving trial quality and patient recruitment outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Feasibility & Site Selection In-depth site feasibility studies using local teams to identify optimal clinical trial strategies, including relative recruitment potential, country selection, local standard of care assessment, and competitive trial landscape analysis. Targeted at pharmaceutical sponsors and CROs planning multi-center trials in Central and Eastern Europe.
• Study Management Clinical Site Manager support from study onset through startup, clinical activities, and project closeout, including key sponsor/CRO contact, risk management, essential document management, and quality oversight. Targeted at pharmaceutical companies and CROs running clinical trials.
• Site Augmentation Study delivery model providing independent coordinator and nurse teams to support clinical trial sponsors, including patient recruitment support, retention tools, site training, and data entry. Targeted at sponsors needing supplemental site staff.
• Home Care Services Clinical trial nurse and physician services covering Central and Eastern Europe, providing sample collection, IV infusions, injections, centrifuge operation, observations, vital signs, ECGs, and patient education at patients' homes. Targeted at clinical trial sponsors needing decentralized/at-home patient visits.
• Regulatory Consulting Full strategic and operational regulatory affairs support including Ethics Committee and Regulatory Authority communication, regulatory application preparation and review, regulatory intelligence maintenance, and regulatory strategy development across Central and Eastern European countries.
• Patient Recruitment & Retention Activities Patient-centric clinical trial support including patient pool review, database screening, referral physician network development, visit scheduling, engagement campaigns, and physician practice outreach. Targeted at pharmaceutical sponsors and CROs needing faster enrollment and higher retention rates.

Quantifiable outcome

• Top recruiter status for >60 clinical multicenter trials
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Major Private Hospital Network in PolandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 August 2020IRN signed a Master Service Agreement with one of the biggest private owners of healthcare institutions in Poland with more than 16 years of experience in hospital management and access to over 1 million patients. The network includes more than 45 healthcare institutions, including hospitals and outpatient clinics, located in 6 different regions with over 3,500 employees.
• University Hospital Virgin MarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity Hospital Virgin Mary is one of the biggest and well-equipped private hospitals in Bulgaria with 129 beds, four operating rooms, two delivery rooms and 191 employees. It became part of the IRN site alliance network in 2016 and was recognized as Hospital of the Year 2017 in Bulgaria. The hospital covers a wide range of therapeutic areas including obstetrics and gynecology, neonatology, anesthesiology, orthopedics, surgery, cardiology, and oncology.
• Comac Medical LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational Research Network is a privately owned Bulgarian company, spin-off of Comac Medical Ltd. Comac Medical provides clinical research services and has 25 years of proven clinical research knowledge. IRN leverages Comac Medical's expertise and established relationships.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ICON plc: Global CRO formed via PRA Health Sciences merger, offering clinical trial services, site management, and patient recruitment to pharma and biotech. Comparable enterprise-level CRO/SMO competition for multinational trial contracts, with overlapping Phase I–IV capability.
• Medpace: Mid-to-large full-service CRO with strong site management and patient recruitment capabilities serving pharma/biotech across multiple therapeutic areas. Comparable B2B clinical research services targeting the same pharma and biotech sponsor base as IRN.
• Syneos Health: Global clinical and commercial solutions provider offering CRO services alongside site management and patient recruitment. Competes for the same enterprise pharma CRO/SMO contracts as IRN with broader geographic coverage.
• Parexel International: Global full-service CRO with site management, patient recruitment, and regulatory consulting capabilities serving large pharma. Comparable as a broad enterprise CRO/SMO competitor with deeper pockets and global reach than IRN.
• IQVIA: Global full-service CRO and SMO with embedded site network and patient recruitment infrastructure across 100+ countries. Directly comparable as a clinical trial site management provider to pharma/CRO clients, though far larger and broader in scope than IRN's CEE-focused offering.
• Eurofins Clinical Trial Services: Eurofins' clinical trial services arm offering central laboratory, site management, and patient recruitment services to pharma sponsors. Comparable in the broader clinical research services space with similar B2B professional services revenue model.

Direct peers

• TFS International: European clinical research organization providing CRO services, site management, and patient recruitment across multiple therapeutic areas. Closely comparable mid-size European CRO competing for similar pharma/CRO contracts with overlapping therapeutic and geographic coverage.
• Optimapharm: Central and Eastern European full-service CRO offering clinical trial management, site management, and patient recruitment across the same CEE geographies. The most directly comparable regional competitor to IRN, focused on the same pharma/CRO client base in overlapping Eastern European countries.
• Cromsource: European-headquartered CRO providing clinical research services, site management, and patient recruitment to pharma sponsors. Directly comparable as a European-region CRO/SMO with similar therapeutic area breadth and B2B sales model.
• Worldwide Clinical Trials: Mid-size global CRO with strong site management and site network operations, providing patient recruitment and clinical operations services to pharma/biotech. Comparable in size, positioning, and service scope to IRN.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/irn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 International Research Network