What We Do

Successful studies depend on the collective performance of individual sites. RapidTrials optimizes site performance on clinical trials. We help sponsors and sites develop the skills and resources necessary to anticipate and overcome performance obstacles. By improving communication and strengthening the partnership between sponsors and sites, we significantly increase the certainty of study completion on time and within budget.

Most drug and biotech companies have well-established strategies for working with large outsourcing entities such as central labs and CRO’s, yet few have devoted substantial resources to working with sites. For the past decade, RapidTrials has been at the forefront of aiding sponsors in selecting, assessing, and managing sites, with an end result of significantly faster enrollment and more efficient, high-quality trial execution.

Executive Team

Tracy Harmon Blumenfeld – Co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer
Tracy Harmon Blumenfeld, MBA, is cofounder, president, and chief executive officer of RapidTrials, based in West Conshohocken, Pa., an industry leader in optimizing site performance. She earlier served as a principal with the Consulting and Productivity Products Group at PAREXEL International, as an associate at Booz Allen and Hamilton’s Pharmaceutical Strategy Practice, and as a senior consultant at the Baxter Management Services Division of Baxter Healthcare Corp. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Wolffe Nadoolman, MD MBA – Medical Director/Co-founder
With experience as a practicing primary care physician as well as a researcher, Dr. Nadoolman has published numerous papers and has been awarded a patent, with others pending. Formerly an executive at Salomon Brothers, he has helped start several companies. As a consultant, he analyzed productivity in clinical trials. Dr. Nadoolman has also just recently founded Private Pediatrics, Inc. in Berkeley, CA. He holds a medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine, a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelors Degree from Cornell University. He is an Expert Medical Reviewer for the Medical Board of the State of California, is a former Institutional Review Board member, and a diplomat of relevant training by the NIH Office of Human Subjects Research and in Bioethics by the Kennedy School of Ethics at Georgetown University. Dr. Nadoolman has worked as a consultant to Pfizer Inc. and has participated in a Pfizer Roundtable, published in The Pfizer Journal, on Healthcare Quality.

Darren Zinner, PhD. – Statistics and Analytical Support
Darren Zinner provides statistical and analytic support services for RapidTrials. Dr. Zinner is a Senior Lecturer in the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. His research focuses on the various relationships between industry and academic scientists in the development of new medical technology. Currently, he is conducting a large national survey of university physicians and biomedical scientists about their formal and informal relationships with industry partners. He is also studying how well academic and private investigators manage the recruitment, screening, and enrollment of subjects within clinical trials for medical products very close to market. He has worked as a biomedical engineer designing and developing laparoscopic instruments and as a senior consultant, leading reimbursement and strategy-focused engagements with biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device firms. Dr. Zinner earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University and has a Master of Science Degree in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has authored and co-authored several peer-reviewed publications and is the inventor on two patents.

Advisory Board

Bunny (aka Beatrice) Ellerin
Managing Director in the New York office of InterbrandHealth, the leading global brand consultancy focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. Ms Ellerin leads the research division and is responsible for all facets of the business including operational performance, business development, client management and staffing. She is also spearheading the firm’s efforts in the Health 2.0 space. InterbrandHealth is part of Interbrand, both of which fall under marketing communications giant Omnicom.

Prior to joining Interbrand, Ms. Ellerin worked with a number of entrepreneurial, high growth healthcare companies. She was Executive Vice President of Clinsights, a start-up data collection company acquired by PPD, Inc. (NASDAQ: PPDI) in 2003. Clinsights was formed in 2000 to develop post-market registries and related services to help medtech companies capture critical information on recently launched products and to promote these new technologies to physicians. While at Clinsights, Bunny helped create several physician education websites including TCTMD, the first online community for interventional cardiologists. This is where she first witnessed the power of the web in influencing behavior.

Earlier in her healthcare career Ms. Ellerin spent five (years in the physician practice management (PPM) industry where she worked with nearly every type of specialty. She started as Director of Operations with Advanced Health Corporation (NASDAQ: ADVH) where she managed cardiology and orthopedic Independent Practice Associations (IPA’s). She was recruited to Vivra Specialty Partners in 1997 as Vice President, Northeast Operations, to manage risk contracts and clinical data reporting for 14 single specialty networks.

Ms Ellerin is known throughout the healthcare industry for her work founding and leading the Harvard Business School Health Industry Alumni Association. The group brings together HBS alumni involved in all sectors of the healthcare industry for professional development and networking. Bunny launched the organization in 1999 and built it into a major HBS alumni force with more than 650 active members, an industry-shaping annual conference, robust website and special events and programs throughout the year. She served as its president through 2004 and now remains involved as Chairman.

Ms. Ellerin has been active with Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry and the HBS Network of Women Alumnae. In 1998, she received the New York Women’s Agenda Leader of the Future Award. Bunny is also involved in her local community and participates in the New Leaders Circle of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. She has been featured in publications including Time, Crain’s NY Business, New York Woman and Seventeen.

Ms. Ellerin received a BA in Political Science from Columbia University and an MBA from Harvard University.

Lisa Ketner, MBA
Corporate Vice President, Member Strategy for Medco, a leading pharmacy benefits management company, has over 20 years business experience, including nearly 15 years in health care.

Before assuming her current position at Medco, she served as Group VP, Market Development and Strategy for Medco’s $20B market division, the Health Plan Group, helping grow its non-PBM business from $40M to nearly $300M in revenue in four years. Prior to that Ms. Ketner worked as a Vice President in the company’s $4B Systemic division where she led marketing, strategy, clinical, and analytic teams and launched the company’s venture into the market for employer groups with 500 employees or fewer.

Ms. Ketner also led marketing and strategy for Health ways, now the leading disease management company, helping establish the company as the gold standard in disease management while doubling the company’s size in just three years.

Five years in consulting, primarily with Bain and Company, positioned Ms.Ketner as an advisor to several Fortune 1000 companies including Anthem Health, Prudential, Boston Scientific, Harvard Hospitals, American Standard, Eagle Snacks, Toys ‘R US, and others.

Lisa also spent the earlier years of her career in investment management, equity and debt financing, and financial planning for Fortune 500 corporations and banking firms.

Linda A. Barnes Meyerson, R.Ph
Ms. Meyerson is Vice President, Global Clinical Operations Worldwide Development at GlaxoSmithKline. Her responsibilities include conceptualizing, designing, and implementing GSK’s operational activities and providing direct leadership for a wide range of line functions, including clinical submissions development, clinical study management, metrics and benchmarking, and field monitors worldwide. Prior to her work at GSK, she held a succession of leadership positions with the Janssen Research Foundation and the RW Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute. A Licensed Pharmacist in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Ms. Meyerson holds a BA in Biology from Trenton State College in New Jersey and a BS in Pharmacy from St. John’s University in New York.

Claude H. Nash, PhD
Claude Nash works with biotechnology company management to establish strategic focus in order to facilitate access to the capital markets. He serves on both private and public company boards. Claude currently serves on the board of directors of Bloodstone Ventures, Adolor, Selectx Pharmaceutical and is the Chairman of Accera.

Before setting up Nash Consulting 2006, Claude served as the President and CEO Bloodstone Ventures plc from 2006 to 2008. Bloodstone’s primary focus is value creation through the commercialization of leading biomedical technologies discovered at universities. Two new start-up companies have now been formed with start-up funding. Prior to joining Bloodstone, Claude served from 2003-2006 as Vice President for Research and Development at University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute where he was responsible for sponsored programs and technology portfolio management. During his tenure six new start-up companies were formed and the sponsored research more than doubled.

Dr. Nash has more than 30 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, which includes advancing more than 20 compounds into clinical trials, five of which are currently approved products. Dr. Nash founded ViroPharma Incorporated in December 1994 and served as the President, CEO and/or Chairman of the board until 2002. He led the company through its initial public offering and raised over $ 450 M of capital through several additional secondary offerings. Prior to ViroPharma, Dr. Nash served as vice president for infectious disease and oncology at Schering Plough Research Institute. Previously, he held various positions with Sterling Drugs, SmithKine Beecham, and Eli Lilly. He received the Charles Porter Award from the Society for Industrial Microbiology and is a member of The American Academy of Microbiology, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi and Beta, Beta, Beta, Biological honor societies. He holds a Ph. D. and MS degree.

Alan N. Vinick, JD, MBA
Currently the CFO at TMG Health, a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) service provider to the Medicare, Medicaid and retiree health plan markets Alan N. Vinick is a senior financial executive with an extensive background working with growth-oriented companies. He has served as Chief Financial Officer of five healthcare companies, four of which were sponsored by the same venture capital firm, including Apogee, Inc., RehabClinics, Inc., Orthopedic Services, Inc., Heritage Health Systems, Inc., and John Hancock Health Plans, Inc. and has been involved in two successful IPOs. Earlier in his career, Mr. Vinick was an officer of CIGNA Corporation and Secretary to the Emergency Loan Guarantee Board. He began his career with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He holds a JD from the Columbus School of Law, an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, and a BS from Babson College.