Cardiovascular Trial Delivery,
From First Site to Final Endpoint
Connected planning, execution and oversight at every stage
Crowded sites, complex endpoints and long follow-up ask more of every stage. Fortrea brings data-led planning, close site relationships and continuous oversight to your cardiovascular trial.
LIVE WEBINAR | 9 December 2026 | Hosted by Xtalks
Closing the Cardiovascular Site Gap : Intelligence Meets Site Expansion
Speakers:
Fortrea: Carlos Zaccarelli Filho · JB Flinders · James Joyce
Velocity Clinical Research: Dan Robitaille
Cardiovascular experience that matters
In the last 5 years, we have supported:
- 365+ Studies
- 11.3K+ Sites
- 140K Patients
- Phase I–IV Early phase to post-approval
- 30+ Years of clinical development, formerly Covance
Studies, sites and patients: data covers 2021 through 2025
How we deliver cardiovascular trials
Operational excellence in cardiovascular trial execution, built on one team and connected disciplines.
One team, from pre-award to final report
A dedicated cardiovascular delivery team, involved before award and through to final deliverables, with continuity in project leadership, one local contact per site and shared governance keeping decisions aligned.
Planning built on current data
We score countries on competitive landscape, site performance and start-up timelines, test eligibility against real-world data, and agree backup sites before the first site opens.
Execution, site by site
Site navigators and early document collection move each site to activation. Each site then works to its own recruitment plan, tracked weekly, with digital reminders and optional home visits to keep patients in the study.
Oversight through to the final endpoint
Risk-based quality management, sites trained to one standard on imaging and functional assessments, and continuous tracking of endpoint events give sponsors a clear view from first patient to database lock and the final study report.
Cardiovascular delivery, proven in practice
From start-up to final endpoint, see how sponsors' trials stayed on track
Connected operational strategies manage complexities and protect endpoints in a cardiovascular megatrial
Phase III · Cardiovascular outcomes trial
Download Case Study
Site recruitment and engagement strategies to accelerate recruitment in a cardiovascular disease study
Phase III · Hypercholesterolemia
Download Case Study
Delivering global confidence for a China-based sponsor’s first clinical trial conducted in both the U.S. and China
Phase II · Dyslipidemia
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Leveraging digital health capabilities to retain patients in a perceived “low benefit” Phase IV study
Phase IV · Heart failure
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Strategically guiding a biotech molecule through its product development lifecycle
Cardiometabolic · Full development lifecycle
Download Case StudyListen in: Pulse Check - The Cardiovascular Conversations
PODCAST | EPISODE 1 (COMING SOON!)
Rethinking CETP Inhibition for Residual Cardiovascular Risk
Speakers:
Dr. Cheerag Shirodaria, VP and Cardiovascular/Metabolic Therapeutic Area Head, Fortrea
Marc Ditmarsch, Chief Development Officer, NewAmsterdam Pharma
PODCAST | EPISODE 2 (COMING SOON!)
How CT Imaging Is Reshaping Evidence in Lipid-Lowering Trials
Speakers:
Dr. Cheerag Shirodaria, VP and Cardiovascular/Metabolic Therapeutic Area Head, Fortrea
Marc Ditmarsch, Chief Development Officer, NewAmsterdam Pharma
Perspectives on cardiovascular trial delivery
Built to adapt: a dynamic delivery model that evolves with the sponsor
James Joyce, Senior Director, Global Project Management
The Recruitment Imperative: Why Sites and Patients Determine Cardiometabolic Trial Success
James Joyce, Senior Director, Global Project Management
From Covance to Fortrea: 30+ years of clinical development
Fortrea builds on more than three decades of drug development experience, first as Covance, then as Labcorp Drug Development and, since 2023, as an independent, focused CRO.
Explore related cardiometabolic therapeutic areas
Cardiovascular trial delivery: frequently asked questions
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How can sponsors improve trial feasibility in cardiovascular studies?
Test the protocol against reality before it is final. Check eligibility criteria, comorbidity restrictions and visit burden against current real-world patient data and what sites can actually deliver, using data that is no more than a year or two old. Then score countries and sites on patient access, competition and past performance, with medical and operational input, so risks surface while the design can still change.
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How does Fortrea approach site selection for cardiovascular trials?
We start at country level, scoring countries on competitive landscape, site performance and start-up timelines, then reviewing the results with our delivery teams. Sites are chosen for their access to the right patients, their care pathways and their capacity, using investigator performance, central laboratory and real-world data. Backup countries and sites are identified early.
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What improves recruitment in cardiovascular outcomes trials?
Each site needs a recruitment plan built around how its patients are actually referred, whether through emergency care, referral pathways or chronic disease clinics, with pre-screening tools and patient materials in place from activation. Every site is then tracked against agreed goals each week, with set points for stepping in. A site that stalls is spotted and supported early, not after timelines have slipped.
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What are the biggest recruitment challenges in cardiometabolic trials?
Patients often have several overlapping conditions that strict eligibility criteria rule out. The same high-performing sites are often running several competing studies at once. And new treatments, such as GLP-1 medicines, keep changing who qualifies. Flexible criteria, a wider mix of sites and feasibility based on current data all help.
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How can patient retention be improved in long-duration cardiovascular studies?
Plan retention from the start, not once patients begin to leave. Lighter visit burden, digital reminders, optional home visits and regular contact with patients and their caregivers all help keep participants in the study. Services that trace patients who are lost to follow-up help confirm their final status.
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How can sponsors protect endpoint quality in cardiovascular outcomes trials?
Build endpoint protection in from the start. Choose sites that can carry out the required assessments well and train them to a consistent standard. Monitor sites for underreported events and act early on participants at risk of leaving the study. Check continuously for possible endpoint events, review them quickly, and forecast event accrual, so data stays complete and you can see early how close the trial is to its endpoints.
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Can Fortrea support sponsors expanding from China and APAC into global studies?
Yes. Fortrea supports sponsors based in China and APAC as they extend into global programs, combining a local team on the ground with global delivery teams. Regional and global regulatory submissions are planned in parallel, local site relationships and site navigators support start-up, and one governance structure keeps regional and global teams aligned.
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How is Fortrea connected to Covance?
Fortrea is the independent CRO that grew out of Covance's clinical development business. Covance became Labcorp Drug Development in 2021, and in 2023 that business separated from Labcorp and launched as Fortrea, an independent CRO with more than 30 years of clinical development experience.