Pavla Nevolová – Country Head, EastHORN Czech Republic – recent interview in Pharma Boardroom

Pavla Nevolová, country head of EastHORN in the Czech Republic, shares the historical roots of the now multinational Czech CRO. Nevolová also shares her insights into the recent evolution of the Czech clinical research landscape and its challenges and opportunities.

Pavla, could you please introduce yourself as country head of EastHORN?

I grew up in Prague and chose to pursue a career in the medical field as a paediatrician. I used to work ten years at the University Hospital Motol in Prague until I decided to switch into clinical research. I had worked six years as a Clinical Research Associate (CRA) and a Local Project Manager when EastHORN offered me to take the position of Clinical Operations Manager and Country Head of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the Baltics. We try to be very active on behalf of EastHORN in the clinical research landscape through associations, both at the local level with the ACRO-CZ, the Czech CRO association, of which I am a member of the board, and at a European level with EUCROF where I am a member of the pediatric working group.

 

What is your biggest achievement or milestone since joining EastHORN in 2013?

Without any doubt, my biggest achievement at EastHORN is building a strong team that I can always rely on. Once you have found the perfect team, great achievements occur every day! Some employees have been at EastHORN for even longer than me, some employees I have recruited myself personally and overall I am very satisfied with how we consolidated EastHORN’s team throughout the years. This is an achievement I value beyond any successful project, good results or key milestone because, with a perfectly functioning team, miracles are made possible every day thanks to our entire team made out of experienced CRAs and project managers.

Another big achievement is the fact that we are participating in almost all clinical trials run globally by EastHORN. Some clients do not have the idea to perform clinical trials in the Czech Republic at first but when we prepare the feasibility in such a convincing way, they change their approach and include the country. This is also thanks to our efficiency in patient recruitment. In seven years, we have not failed once in recruiting the required amount of patients for each trial. Thanks to very good referencing and an impressive track record, we are proud to position EastHORN Czech Republic as one of the pillars of the global CRO. This is even more satisfying considering the company, before moving its headquarters to Warsaw in Poland, was originally founded here in Prague.

 

Can you provide for our readers an overview of EastHORN’s footprint and clinical operations within the Czech Republic?

We are a full-service Contract Research Organization (CRO) founded in 2004, managing clinical trials from Phases I-IV. We take advantage of our network of local offices across Europe, continuously expanding and covering from Spain to Russia. EastHORN’s added value comes from these local offices which, through a team of experienced CRAs and professionals, bring the needed local knowledge. Our team’s expertise on the local regulations is a key asset in providing fast and comprehensive results.

In terms of service portfolio, we offer everything from feasibility studies to medical monitoring and writing, including pharmacovigilance, regulatory service and so on. I would also like to stress that our experience in Phase I and bioequivalence studies are extraordinary.

 

What is EastHORN’s vision and how do you continue to remain true to your roots and heritage at the Czech Republic affiliate?

EastHORN was founded with the vision of incorporating the best practices from multinational organizations with high standards but as a smaller company that would capitalize on its agility and ability to listen to their customers to go beyond their expectations. We have centralized EastHORN’s growth around avoiding drawbacks we can see in global companies, such as the lack of employees empowerment to take decisions or be proactive and think outside the box. We do not see our employees as timesheet hours and we never want them to consider their job as such either. EastHORN is committed to its partners and is not just following processes, but offering the best solutions. We want to focus all of our attention on delivering results through effective and open communication, fast decision-making process and encouraging creative ideas to push our projects forward.

Our ultimate objective is to create the perfect workplace for our team so they can be happy, dedicated and as enthusiastic as can be. Therefore, at EastHORN there is no individual competition, we continuously promote teamwork and have eliminated a hierarchical structure that limits our employees’ room for growth.

 

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You can read the full interview here