A local clinical trial management company has hit a significant milestone in 2024.
Stiris Research Inc. is an entrepreneurial clinical trial management CRO, providing comprehensive study management solutions for Phase I through IIIB clinical research. 2024 is marking their 20th anniversary of being founded.
Built by biotech, for biotech, their main objective is to create custom tailored solutions and management for companies with an end goal of bringing life changing medications to patients as fast as possible without sacrificing safety or quality.
“Prior to starting Stiris, I worked at another CRO. I would go to the CEO with ideas as to how we could be more efficient, how we could provide better service etc. I was always told ‘no’”, says Shantal Feltham, founder and CEO of Stiris Research. “They were working to make money, I was working to make patients better, and to help save people. It was at that point that I knew I was not working at the right company.”
Since conception in 2004, Stiris has received many notable awards and recognitions, including the PROFIT Top 50 emerging growth companies award, business of the year in the small business category from chamber of commerce and the YWCA women of excellence award for entrepreneurship, amongst many others.
“It was incredibly difficult getting started. In fact, this is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. The thing is, I love, and have loved, almost every minute of it,” Feltham says. “It can be lonely. It can consume you. It can test your grit and your belief in yourself. And yet, it is the most gratifying experience.”
Over the past two decades, Stiris has expanded from 12 to 150 employees, now providing full-service support to biotech and pharmaceutical companies from around the globe, with its headquarters still residing in London, Ont.
“Approximately 40% of the studies we are running this year are global studies,” Feltham says. “I am so very proud to tell people we are in our 21st year. I am so proud to talk about how long some of our team members have been with us. And I always love to answer the question, ‘Why London, Ontario and not <<insert big city name here>>?’”
Looking to the future, Feltham aims for Stiris to grow its global footprint, and have a longer list of vertical services.
“We will be known as The Best Clinical Trial Management CRO in North America, with a reputation for quality work, strong collaboration, and an unwavering focus on making others better,” she says. “We will continue to give back to our community and mentor others. And we will do all of this from our headquarters here in London, Ont.”
