Avance Clinical appoints inaugural Chief Commercial Officer, reinforcing global growth strategy. ADELAIDE, Australia, Aug. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Avance Clinical, a global full-service CRO headquartered in Australia dedicated to servicing international biotechs, today announced the appointment of Tim Schuckman as its first Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). Schuckman joined the company on Monday 17 August in a newly created executive role that reflects Avance Clinical's continued growth, deeper client partnerships, and expanding presence across North America, Asia, and Europe. "Tim's arrival comes at a pivotal moment for Avance Clinical," said Mark Harvill, CEO of Avance Clinical. The creation of the CCO role gives Avance Clinical dedicated executive leadership across commercial strategy, business development, proposals, client engagement, market expansion and strategic partnerships, as the company sharpens its focus to meet accelerating demand from biotech sponsors worldwide. Schuckman brings more than a decade of senior commercial leadership from WCG Clinical, a leading provider of clinical research solutions, where he held progressively senior commercial roles before serving as Chief Commercial Officer. Based outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, Schuckman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and Marketing from Wittenberg University. During Schuckman's tenure at WCG, he built and mentored commercial teams of more than 50 people, delivered double-digit year-over-year net bookings growth, and led enterprise-wide commercial transformation initiatives, including facilitating the integration of more than 30 acquisitions to strengthen client capability. His experience developing commercial strategy, strengthening client partnerships and building high-performing teams positions him well to support Avance Clinical's next phase of growth. "I'm excited to join Avance Clinical at such a significant point in its growth," said Schuckman. "The company has built a genuinely differentiated position for biotech sponsors globally, and I look forward to partnering across the business to sharpen our commercial focus, strengthen client relationships and support Avance Clinical's continued expansion into new markets." Reporting directly to CEO Mark Harvill and joining the Executive Leadership Team, Schuckman will lead Avance Clinical's commercial functions, partnering closely across the business to ensure priorities remain aligned with operational capability and client needs. "Tim's arrival comes at a pivotal moment for Avance Clinical," said Mark Harvill, CEO of Avance Clinical. "As we continue to expand our services in the Australia/New Zealand region and build our global presence to support the biotech sponsors we serve, it is the right time to establish dedicated executive leadership focused on our commercial strategy. Tim's track record of building high-performing teams and delivering sustained growth in clinical research services makes him the right person to help lead the next chapter of our story. I am delighted to welcome him to our team." About Avance Clinical Avance Clinical is a full-service, Australian-headquartered global Contract Research Organization, servicing international biotechs across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and China. Specializing in early-phase and First-in-Human studies across more than 250 indications, as well as Oncology, Renal, Metabolic, and Central Nervous System trials, Avance Clinical has partnered with more than 700 emerging biotech companies to accelerate their programs to critical development milestones. Avance Clinical is the 2026 Frost & Sullivan Global Company of the Year in the Biotech CRO industry. To learn more, visit www.avancecro.com. Find out more: For media enquiries, email [email protected].

WCG, a global clinical research solutions provider, has appointed Anthony Doyle as chief financial officer, effective 15 June 2026. He succeeds Robert VanHees, who will remain as special adviser until 31 December 2026. Doyle brings over 20 years of financial leadership experience in healthcare and clinical research. He joins from Flourish Research, where he serves as CFO. Previously, he held CFO roles at BioCryst Pharmaceuticals and Worldwide Clinical Trials, leading organisations through growth and operational transformation. He also held finance leadership positions at General Electric. CEO Sam Srivastava said Doyle's financial expertise and industry experience align with WCG's strategic direction as the company expands capabilities across the clinical research ecosystem. Doyle expressed enthusiasm about supporting WCG's continued growth and strategic investment.

WCG, a global clinical research solutions provider, has announced an agreement to acquire The Contract Network, extending its ClinSphere AI platform's capabilities across study start-up and contract management. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Contract Network specialises in applying AI to contract and study start-up workflows, technology co-developed with academic medical centres including Mayo Clinic. The acquisition will integrate these capabilities into WCG's existing AI-powered ecosystem, which includes Trial IntelX for predictive trial design and site feasibility. The combined platform aims to identify contract and budget misalignments at document creation, before they cause delays. WCG says the integration will create the industry's most comprehensive AI-enabled platform for clinical research operations, spanning trial design, site selection, ethical review and contract intelligence.