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NEUROSCIENCE CRO SERVICES

The toughest studies bring out our best

Recruitment, raters, endpoints, and biomarkers. AKEURA helps you get these decisions right before the first participant enrolls, in studies across neurodegeneration, psychiatry, epilepsy, neuromuscular disease, and rare neurological conditions.

Meet our experts

Neuroscience CRO expertise that thrives on the biggest challenges

  • 140+

    neuroscience trials in 25+ countries

  • 13,000+

    participants across 1,400+ sites

  • 60+

    neurology and psychiatry indications

  • 1 in 3

    neuroscience studies focused on rare disease

Deep neuroscience expertise.
Specialists in every indication.

Every neurological and psychiatric condition changes how a study should run. AKEURA’s neuroscience CRO services are planned indication by indication, from protocol design and site selection to cognitive endpoints and biomarkers, across some of the most challenging areas in neuroscience.

Neurodegenerative diseases

Specialists who know the signal

Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and mild cognitive impairment

We design neurodegenerative disease clinical trials around disease stage, biomarkers, cognitive and functional endpoints, and the day-to-day burden on participants and caregivers.

Epilepsy and seizures

Designed around accurate event capture

Adult, pediatric, and rare epilepsies, including status epilepticus

We deliver tailored protocol design, electroencephalogram (EEG) strategy, specialist sites, endpoint and biomarker selection, and rater readiness for epilepsy clinical trials, from common seizure disorders to developmental and epileptic encephalopathies.

Neuromuscular disorders

It takes more than a site list

Duchenne, SMA, ALS, and other rare neuromuscular disorders

Eligible participants are few and spread across countries. We build recruitment and site plans around that reality, so your study reaches the participants it needs and keeps them through follow-up.

Pain and sleep

Subjective outcomes, without the guesswork

Migraine, chronic pain, insomnia, and rare sleep disorders

Pain and sleep studies can succeed or fail on subjective outcomes. We choose specialists, proven sites, and disciplined endpoint selection to protect the true signal and reduce noise from placebo response and rater variability.

Psychiatry

Consistent raters, credible results

Schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, autism, and other psychiatric disorders

Psychiatric endpoints depend on what participants and raters report, so the signal is easy to lose. AKEURA’s psychiatry specialists plan rater training, placebo-response strategy, and site selection for complex psychiatric populations from the start.

Rare neurology

On the ground where participants are

Tuberous sclerosis complex, CDKL5, and mitochondrial disease

Our specialist site networks help you reach small, geographically dispersed populations in rare neurology, supported by in-depth disease knowledge that connects complex assessments, caregiver involvement, and long-term follow-up.

Neuroscience specialists, from protocol to final report

Meet the clinical and operational leaders who stay with your study.

Talk to a neuroscience expert
Kristy Nichols

Kristy Nichols

Senior Vice President, Neuroscience

Heading the neuroscience business, backed by 17 years running her own CRO and global biometrics leadership in CNS research.

Lieza Exalto, MD, PhD

Lieza Exalto, MD, PhD

Head of Medical and Scientific Strategy, Neuroscience

Shaping medical and scientific strategy for neuroscience studies, drawing on expertise in dementia and neurodegeneration.

Michael Markowitz, MD, MBA, MSPH

Michael Markowitz, MD, MBA, MSPH

Medical Scientist

25+ years in pharmaceutical medical affairs, from Parkinson’s to schizophrenia, now advancing neuroscience programs.

Rana Hanna Al-Shaikh, MD, MSc

Rana Hanna Al-Shaikh, MD, MSc

Senior Medical Monitor

Movement disorder and neurodegeneration research at Mayo Clinic, now providing expert medical oversight for neuroscience studies.

Barbara Etter

Barbara Etter

Head, Project Strategy and Delivery, Neuroscience

25+ years in clinical operations and data management, now leading project delivery for neurology and psychiatry studies.

Courtenay Jensen

Courtenay Jensen

Program Head, Project Strategy and Delivery, Neuroscience

25 years of CRO and sponsor-side project management and monitoring, now guiding complex multi-country clinical studies.

A study is a long road

Choose a team you’ll love to go the distance with.

Kristy Nichols

Senior VP, Global Head of Neuroscience

[Short bio to come.]

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Lieza Exalto, MD

Head of Medical and Scientific Strategy

[Short bio to come.]

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Barbara Etter

Head of Project Strategy and Delivery

[Short bio to come.]

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Farzaneh Malekpour, MD

Medical Director

[Short bio to come.]

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Rana Hanna Al-Shaikh, MD

Medical Director

[Short bio to come.]

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Courtenay Jensen

Program Head, Project Strategy and Delivery

[Short bio to come.]

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Michael Markowitz, MD

Program Head

[Short bio to come.]

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Talk to a neuroscience expert

We know where the problems like to hide

Scarce participants. Variable ratings. Signals that are easy to blur.

The senior experts working on your study have decades of experience and know how to deal with the toughest challenges.

1

Everyone wants the same patient.

Our approach

Studies are only as good as the relationships they’re built on. We go first to high-enrolling sites we know, where the rapport is already built, so recruitment starts strong.

In a Phase II postpartum depression study with tough criteria and a high screen-fail rate, we closed enrollment six months early.

2

One inconsistent rater can blur the signal.

Our approach

Key opinion leaders and our subject matter experts assess endpoints early, and peer-to-peer engagement between investigators and experts keeps outcome measures clinically relevant.

Your protocol gets expert eyes before you sign, so problems surface on paper, not mid-study.

3

Platform trials multiply the complexity.

Our approach

Multi-regimen designs and master protocols need operations leaders who have done it before.

Our teams have supported five platform trial engagements, including the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s Path to Prevention platform trial we run today.

4

Start-up can’t wait.

Our approach

We prioritize sites with indication experience and existing relationships, run site-specific kickoffs, and start identifying participants as soon as site initiation visits are scheduled.

In a Phase II Parkinson’s study, that approach activated four sites and secured three consents within eight weeks of final protocol, beating the sponsor’s first-consent goal.

5

Enrollment has stalled. The timeline has not.

Our approach

Senior neuroscience and operational leaders find the blockage, revamp monitoring and site management, and get your study moving, working within the protocol and never around it.

We’ve rescued 18 studies in five years. After one rescue, the sponsor handed us several more.

6

The team that pitched isn’t the team that runs it.

Our approach

Not here. Your named team shapes the design, feasibility, and recruitment plan, attends your bid defense, and stays through your next phase.

Every clinical operations specialist on our neuroscience team brings at least 10 years’ experience, and with just 5% voluntary turnover, they stay.

Choose speed. And certainty.

Faster enrollment, regulatory milestones, and straight talk from our neurologists. See what our neuroscience CRO teams are delivering.

Case study

Accelerating Phase II Parkinson’s enrollment, well ahead of target

Faced with an aggressive start-up target, we deployed a focused operational strategy that brought four sites live and secured three informed consents within eight weeks of final protocol, beating the sponsor's first-consent goal. Not one corner cut.

Read the case study
Fact sheet

Alzheimer’s trials are getting harder. We’re ready.

With disease-modifying therapies approved, trials are moving earlier into biomarker-defined populations where signals are subtle and recruitment is tough. AKEURA brings the scientific depth, stable senior teams, and real-world evidence to run them well, from early development to post-approval.

Read the fact sheet

Support at every stage of development

Early phase clinical development

Confident first steps from first dose to proof of concept, with answers your next study can trust

Explore early phase

Late phase clinical development

Phase IIb to Phase IV trials at scale, built to carry your program through approval and beyond

Explore late phase

Real-world evidence studies

Regulatory-grade post-approval safety and effectiveness studies, led by RWE specialists who stay within reach

Explore real-world evidence

Frequently asked questions

Answers to your questions about our neuroscience expertise

A neuroscience CRO plans and runs clinical trials and real-world evidence studies in neurological and psychiatric conditions. AKEURA is a specialist neuroscience CRO with 140+ neuroscience studies in 25+ countries. Our scientists, clinicians, study leaders, and epidemiologists support protocol design, site selection, recruitment, endpoints, data quality, and study delivery.

AKEURA runs studies in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and seizures (including rare pediatric epilepsies), neuromuscular disorders, stroke and other cerebrovascular conditions, sleep, and pain, as well as psychiatry, including schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and autism spectrum disorder. We also bring specialized expertise in hearing loss and otology.

Yes. Rare and pediatric neurology is a core part of AKEURA’s neuroscience work, and more than 1 in 3 of our neuroscience studies is in rare disease. Our specialist site networks help us find small, geographically dispersed participant populations, so your study can meet its enrollment targets.

AKEURA uses specialist site relationships, disease consortia, and real-world data to locate eligible participants. We test feasibility and plan neuroscience recruitment before screening starts, so your study enrolls the right participants from the first site.

AKEURA plans cognitive and functional endpoints, trains raters, and tracks consistency across sites. Our teams also provide EEG and biomarker guidance so the data stays interpretable.

Yes. Senior neuroscience experts and operational leaders identify the blockage, reset site and recruitment plans, and restore momentum without trading away the protocol or data quality.

The team you meet at the pitch is the team that runs your study, from protocol to final report. AKEURA’s neuroscience group is led by Kristy Nichols, Senior VP and Global Head of Neuroscience, with medical directors and program heads you can reach directly.

Yes. AKEURA’s real-world evidence specialists use real-world data to test feasibility and locate eligible participants before your first site opens. They also run real-world evidence studies on their own or alongside clinical programs.

Connect with an expert

Tell us what you need.
Your message goes to the team that handles your study.

Name
Lieza Exalto, MD, PhD

Lieza Exalto, MD, PhD

Head of Medical and Scientific Strategy, Neuroscience

Shaping medical and scientific strategy for neuroscience studies, drawing on expertise in dementia and neurodegeneration.