Ergomed Group, a specialised international clinical development company, has opened a new facility in Russia. The company has appointed Dr Sergei Drapkin as the managing director for the Russian office. The new office, which strengthens Ergomed`s position in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, will support ongoing operations in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belorussia. These countries represent emerging regions with very significant potential for high patient recruitment. Clinical research in Ergomed`s areas of specialisation in these regions is also of a high quality given the generally high standard of medical training and the concentration of medical expertise in a few centres. Dr Miroslav Reljanovic, CEO, Ergomed Group, stated, "We have been carrying out clinical trials in Eastern Europe for some years now and have successfully integrated our study site management system in Central and Eastern Europe, delivering faster patient recruitment and improved data quality. We will be bringing advanced technologies in clinical research in this emerging region". Dr Sergei Drapkin said that the Russian region is a key emerging region for clinical research and Ergomed is pioneering highly effective strategies such as Study Site Management. Before joining Ergomed Russia as managing director, Dr Sergei Drapkin served in senior management roles within international CROs from 1997 worked for Quintiles Transnational Corp., where he co-founded Quintiles` Moscow office. Over a decade at Quintiles, he led a wide variety of clinical research programmes - from small pilot projects to multi-centre, multi-country large scale trials overseeing studies with hundreds of sites and thousands of patients. He also headed the Quintiles` strategic group for assessing the feasibility of clinical research programmes in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He received his medical degree from Moscow Medical Sechenov Academy in 1992 followed by five years of specialisation in cardiology and urgent care medicine at Russia`s Premier Military Burdenko Hospital. Ergomed is a specialised international clinical development company offering contract clinical research and co-development partnerships to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies worldwide in the fields of neurology, oncology and immunology.