This story originally ran in the Nashville Business Journal on Aug. 29, 2025: Clinical Research Associates dedicates 75% of business to GLP-1 weight-loss drugs
Clinical Research Associates dedicates 75% of business to GLP-1 weight-loss drugs
A Nashville research facility is going (almost) all-in on weight-loss drugs.
Clinical Research Associates, which during the pandemic did clinical trials for the Covid-19 vaccine, has now focused 75% of its business on GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, according to CEO Linda Schipani.
“We’re looking at diabetes with those drugs and also weight loss,” Schipani said. “Those drugs are going to be one of those that turn into looking at different indicators for their use, like chronic kidney disease and even dementia.”
GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic have received high levels of media attention in recent years as high-profile celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Rebel Wilson, Serena Williams, Eric Stonestreet and Elon Musk candidly shared they have taken weight-loss drugs to lose drastic amounts of weight. That craze is why Schipani said Clinical Research Associates has entered the space.
“If you were in retail, you would want to have merchandise that people want to buy. … If everybody wants a blue sweater, you’re not going to order purple and red — you’re going to have a blue selection,” Schipani said. “Right now, there’s a lot of demand for the GLP-1s.”
It’s been two years working with the drugs, according to Schipani, and they are currently working with the three largest weight-loss companies including Eli Lilly and Co., Roche and Novo Nordisk. What Clinical Research Associates does is essentially find participants, screen them and then do the actual testing of the drug and monitoring of the patients. They then report their findings, and the Food and Drug Administration determines if the drugs go to market.
Clinical Research Associates has been in business for 35 years and currently has around 25 employees. At any given time, they are running 20 to 25 studies. Unlike during the pandemic, when 100% of what Clinical Research Associates did was in the vaccine space, now that makes up just 10% of what they do, according to Schipani. They also work in the metabolic disorder space.
One of the biggest challenges Clinical Research Associates faces when it comes to studies is enrollment. And that’s a challenge all clinical research faces. Getting participants for weight-loss research has been less challenging than other trials, though.
“We’ve had a really huge response to it, people are interested in what they want for their health,” Schipani said. “These drugs are kind of like years ago when Lipitor came out … that this was a miracle drug of all drugs. … A lot of it is the same hype that we saw so many years ago with Lipitor agents, and it’s going to be fun to see how it all turns out.”
Schipani said she’s looking forward to seeing how the GLP-1 drugs will help with conditions like renal failure and peripheral vascular disease.
Sign up for a weight loss drug study with Clinical Research Associates here