Actually, CRO stands for contract research organization.
Pharma companies 'contract' with Clinical CRO's like Parexel, IQVia, PPD etc to run a study. The sites actually sub-contract with the CRO not the pharmaceutical company. The CRO vets the sites, conducts an initiation visit to review the protocol then sends CRA's periodically to the site to review that the site is completing paperwork appropriately, conducting visits appropriately and dispensing drug/placebo correctly. They also directly or indirectly test blood and/or urine for toxicity and PK; arrange for EKG interpretations, MRI interpretations (probably not needed in RD), etc as needed.
Other CRO's are basic research CRO's (i.e. Charles River and many many smaller ones) and can do the preclinical animal PK/PD/tox studies or help run the preclinical mouse efficacy data, etc.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
