On February 26, 2009, the Japanese CRO Association – JCROA – celebrated their 15^th anniversary with a Commemorative Symposium titled

“The new paradigm/stream in the clinical development – how to adopt Japan clinical trials to international environment!”

The symposium program is attached.

Guest speakers were invited from the US based CRO Association – ACRO  and from the European CRO Federation EUCROF, thus all three ICH regions were represented at this festive occasion.

Before the symposium, the heads of the three CRO organisations (Kazuo Nakamura for JCROA, Derek Winstanly for ACRO and Antoine Cournot for EUCROF) signed the TOKYO DECLARATION, a commitment to patient safety, data integrity and scientific quality as well as fair competition in the CRO industry. The assembly of JCROA, ACRO and EUCROF in Tokyo on February 26, 2009, marks an important initial step in aligning CRO Associations for the development of a harmonized voice.

The TOKYO DECLARATION is also attached.