About HCRS
Himachal Pradesh's first Site Management Organization — advancing clinical research through excellence, integrity, and collaboration.
About Us
Himalayan Clinical Research Services (HCRS) is Himachal Pradesh's first Site Management Organization (SMO), established with a vision to strengthen the region's clinical research ecosystem and develop it into a center of excellence for clinical research. We deliver comprehensive, end-to-end site management solutions by collaborating with investigators, healthcare institutions, sponsors, and Contract Research Organizations (CROs) to conduct clinical trials that adhere to the highest international standards of quality, ethics, and regulatory compliance.
At HCRS, we are committed to enhancing research capabilities, improving access to innovative therapies for patients, and supporting the advancement of medical science. Through operational excellence, regulatory expertise, and unwavering ethical standards, we strive to position India as a trusted global destination for high-quality clinical research.
Our Story
India is one of the world's leading destinations for clinical research, yet clinical trial activity remains concentrated in a handful of metropolitan cities. Despite its robust healthcare infrastructure, highly skilled clinicians, and diverse patient population, Himachal Pradesh has remained largely untapped in the global clinical research landscape.
Himalayan Clinical Research Services (HCRS) was established to change that.
As the first Site Management Organization (SMO) from Himachal Pradesh, HCRS was founded with a clear vision: to bridge the gap between the region's healthcare institutions and the global clinical research community. From the very beginning, our foundation has been built on quality, ethics, regulatory compliance, and a commitment to advancing healthcare through research.
We recognized that many hospitals serving large patient populations lacked the dedicated infrastructure required to conduct clinical trials. We also saw experienced investigators and healthcare professionals eager to contribute to research but without the operational support needed to participate in sponsor-driven studies. At the same time, patients in the region had limited opportunities to access innovative investigational therapies and participate in cutting-edge medical research.
HCRS was created to bridge these gaps.
Working closely with hospitals, investigators, sponsors, Contract Research Organizations (CROs), and healthcare professionals, we provide comprehensive site management solutions that simplify the complexities of clinical trial operations. From site start-up, regulatory submissions, and ethics committee coordination to patient recruitment, study coordination, quality management, and regulatory compliance, we manage the operational aspects of clinical research so investigators can focus on delivering exceptional patient care and advancing scientific discovery.
Today, HCRS is committed to building a sustainable and globally recognized clinical research ecosystem in India's States. By enabling high-quality, ethical, and internationally compliant clinical trials, we aim to expand research opportunities, improve patient access to innovative treatments, and contribute to positioning India as a trusted global leader in clinical research.
Mission
To strengthen the clinical research ecosystem in Himachal Pradesh by providing comprehensive site management services that meet international standards of quality, ethics, and compliance — enabling investigators to conduct research and patients to access new treatments.
Vision
To establish Himachal Pradesh as a recognised and trusted destination for clinical research, with a network of sites and investigators that meet the highest global standards — and to serve as a model for how clinical research capacity can be built in underserved regions of India.
Our Founding Principle
“Clinical research must serve patients first. Everything else — timelines, budgets, enrolment targets — follows from that.”
What Guides Us
Our Values
These are not aspirational statements. They are the standards we hold ourselves to on every study, at every site, every day.
Quality
Every process we build is designed for audit-readiness from day one. We maintain standardised operating procedures aligned with ICH-GCP and work to ensure data integrity at every point of collection. Quality is not a department at HCRS — it is how we operate.
Ethics
Patient safety and informed consent are non-negotiable. We support investigators and ethics committees to ensure every participant is treated with dignity, fully informed about their rights, and protected throughout their involvement in a study. We do not take shortcuts with consent.
Compliance
We operate within the framework of India's New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019, and maintain current knowledge of CDSCO requirements, ICH-GCP updates, and international best practices. When regulations change, our SOPs change with them.
Patient Safety
The safety and wellbeing of trial participants is the foundation of everything we do. Our training, processes, and oversight systems are built around this principle. Adverse events are reported promptly. Safety signals are taken seriously. No trial outcome is worth more than a participant's health.
What Sets Us Apart
The HCRS Difference
Local Knowledge, Global Standards
We understand Himachal Pradesh — its healthcare institutions, its patient communities, its regulatory landscape, and its cultural context. But we operate to international standards. This combination of local insight and global compliance is what makes HCRS effective where national CROs with no regional presence struggle.
Embedded, Not Distant
HCRS coordinators work on-site, inside the clinical team. We are not a remote management layer that shows up for monitoring visits. Our people sit in the outpatient department, know the staff by name, and catch issues before they become findings. This embedded approach is central to how we deliver quality.
Built for the Region
We did not take a metro-city SMO model and transplant it to Himachal Pradesh. Our processes, training programmes, and staffing models are designed for the specific realities of conducting research in a Himalayan state — from managing logistics in hill terrain to conducting informed consent in local languages.
Transparent & Honest
We will tell a sponsor if a site is not ready. We will flag a risk in a feasibility assessment even if it costs us the project. Clinical research cannot be built on inflated promises, and our reputation depends on being the partner that sponsors can trust to tell them what they need to hear.
Our Team
Leadership
Our leadership team brings together clinical research expertise, healthcare operations experience, and deep knowledge of Himachal Pradesh's institutional landscape.
Ankush Sharma
Founder
Narinder Kumar
Head of Operations and Site Manager
Ashish Sharma
Director
Registered Office
Rajgarh, Sirmaur — 173101, Himachal Pradesh, India
Head Office
Phagli, Shimla 171004, Himachal Pradesh, India
Work With HCRS
Whether you're a pharmaceutical sponsor exploring new sites, a CRO looking for regional partners, or an investigator interested in clinical research — we'd like to hear from you.