DALLAS, May 25, 2023 | Latticework Capital Management’s (“LCM”) site management organization platform American Clinical Research Services (“ACRS”) announces the buildout of its corporate team with the hiring of two key executives. Dustin Owen has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer and Sarah Petrucci as the new Chief Financial Officer. In addition, ACRS has acquired Clinical Site Services (“CSSi”) and Patient Advertising Guru (“PAG”). The acquisition of the two previously merged companies demonstrates ACRS’s focus on inclusive patient centric solutions for clinical development. Both Chris Trizna (CSSi) and Evan Brett (PAG) remain as co-Presidents, joining the growing ACRS leadership team.
Owen joins ACRS from Thermo Fisher Scientific/PPD, where he was Senior Vice President and General Manager of Accelerated Enrollment Solutions (“AES”). In his role, Owen was responsible for over 160 clinical research sites, spanning 15 countries and 2,000 employees. Prior to joining Thermo Fisher/PPD, Owen served as PPD’s Head of Asia Pacific Clinical Operations and board member for PPD-SNBL Laboratories joint venture in Japan preceded by Vice President of Strategic Laboratory Operations. Owen holds an Industrial Engineering Degree from Georgia Tech and a Master of Business Administration from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.
“I’m excited to join the ACRS team as CEO,” says Owen. “ACRS is focused on inclusive patient centric solutions for clinical development. We look to build upon our base of high-quality research sites like CRI and results oriented patient recruitment capabilities in CSSi. CRI’s focus is on complex trials, where we are pursuing therapeutic areas with significant unmet need, but able to do so by reaching underrepresented patient populations. We then pair these capabilities with CSSi, which leverages media patient outreach with local enrollment specialists who support site staff within the site and throughout the community.”
Petrucci is a seasoned finance leader with 20 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining ACRS, Ms. Petrucci spent more than five years alongside Owen at Thermo Fisher Scientific/PPD, most recently as the operational finance executive in PPD’s Accelerated Enrollment Solutions business unit. Prior to that role, Petrucci spent four years as a global FP&A leader and was directly involved in the $17.4 billion IPO in 2020 and subsequent sale to Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2021.
“I am excited to join ACRS, as this opportunity allows me to capitalize on my knowledge and expertise in the clinical trial space,” says Petrucci. “I look forward to building a talented finance team that will further drive operational success and support the company’s dynamic growth potential.”
CSSi has been providing customized, full-service site centric patient recruitment solutions since 2005. CSSI’s Local Enrollment Specialists are former study coordinators, located across the globe, that support sites to generate referrals from within the site, their community, advocacy groups, and local medical practitioners.
PAG is a niche provider of high-performance advertising results since 2012, providing creative development, media buying and referral tracking services. PAG is also the creator of Research Study Rockstar, an industry-leading social media resource for patient recruitment.
CCSi and PAG have extensive experience servicing a diverse range of therapeutic areas (30+), including oncology, CNS, metabolic, and women’s health, across 50+ countries.
ACRS is actively seeking acquisitions in the clinical research site and patient recruitment space. Please reach out to Dustin Owen ([email protected]).
About ACRS
ACRS was formed in 2022 by Latticework Capital Management with the acquisition of Catalina Research Institute (“CRI). CRI focuses on highly complexity metabolic trials in NASH, NAFLD, and diabetes, along with central nervous system disease. In Jan 2023, ACRS acquired patient recruitment company CSSi, along with subsidiary Patient Advertising Guru. CSSi leverages media outreach and local enrollment specialists to raise awareness of clinical trials. For more information, visit www.acrsholdings.com.
About LCM
Headquartered in Dallas, Latticework is a growth oriented private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. Latticework leverages its over 100 combined years of healthcare and investing experience, as well as its network of industry executives, to help companies grow and realize their full long-term value. For more information, please visit www.latticeworkcapital.com.