Velocity CARE Council - Respiratory - wText - centered - color

Delivering unparalleled reach and expertise for cardiovascular trials worldwide

participants enrolled in respiratory studies

respiratory trials conducted

sites that can support respiratory trials

Velocity PIs have led pivotal trials contributing to multiple respiratory therapy approvals

Respiratory diseases remain a global health challenge, impacting millions and driving urgent demand for better therapies. Velocity’s Respiratory Council to Accelerate Research Excellence (CARE) will help you meet that need — delivering expert oversight, strategic guidance, and operational excellence for clinical trials targeting respiratory conditions.

Led by top pulmonologists and clinicians with deep research and medical experience, the CARE Council ensures that every trial benefits from best practices, optimized site performance, and targeted patient access.

Deep Therapeutic Expertise: The Respiratory CARE Council enhances the way all Velocity sites conduct asthma, COPD, and respiratory disease trials. Before your trials even being, Velocity’s world-class investigators can also provide early protocol and study design guidance to streamline execution.

Unmatched Patient Access: With extensive patient databases backed by proprietary, AI-enabled VISION technology, Velocity will align your trial with the right patients and investigators, ensuring reliable enrollment and continuity of care.

Reach and capabilities

35+ Velocity sites with extensive pulmonology research experience
45+ sites ready for respiratory trials with CARE Council oversight
Expertise in common and complex respiratory diseases
Specialized recruitment strategies for specialty populations
Advanced diagnostic capabilities, including spirometry, FeNO testing, and imaging
Seamless coordination between general medicine sites and pulmonology centers
World-class diversity and community engagement initiatives
Expertise in diagnostics and device research
Access to millions of patient lives

Cardiometabolic CARE Council Leaders

Velocity's Cardiometabolic CARE Council is led by distinguished physicians. The council leverages their vast experience in respiratory-related medical practice and research, alongside Velocity sites and staff that have supported thousands of trials.

Let's Talk About Your Next Trial

Luis De La Cruz, MD

Dr. De La Cruz is a Principal Investigator at Velocity’s Greenville, SC site. He is also the Director of the Sleep Division at Upstate Lung and Critical Care, as well as the Medical Director of Sleep Services at Cherokee Medical Center in Gaffney, SC. Dr. De la Cruz has been a successful PI for more than a decade. He attended medical school in Lima, Peru and completed his Internal Medicine residency at Southern Illinois University. He continued with a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care at the University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL and his Sleep Medicine Fellowship at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, FL.

Board Certifications: Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care, Internal Medicine, Sleep Medicine

Henrik Watz, MD

Dr. Watz is a pulmonologist and internist at Velocity’s Ahrensburg, Germany, site, which has been a top global enroller for multiple COPD trials. A prolific investigator, he has contributed extensively to research in various pulmonology indications, including COPD, bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis, pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, lymphangioleiomyomatosis, and pulmonary hypertension in fibrosing lung diseases. Prior to joining Velocity, Dr. Watz co-led the Pulmonary Research Institute at the LungeClinic Grosshansdorf (PRI). During his tenure, PRI conducted over 300 studies and contributed to more than 250 publications and 300 conferences.

Board Certifications: Pulmonology, Internal Medicine

Sarah Smiley, DO, FACP

Dr. Smiley is a Medical Director and Principal Investigator at Velocity’s Medford, OR, site. She has been actively involved in clinical trials since 2007, with research spanning cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, as well as obesity, diabetes, endocrinology, gastrointestinal disorders, and rheumatologic conditions. Dr. Smiley also has specialized training in pain management. In addition to her medical expertise, she has experience in medical group and regulatory management, excelling in advancing clinical research operations. She earned her medical degree from the UNT Health Science Center and completed her residency at the UT Austin Dell Medical School.

Board Certifications: Internal Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Medicine

Farhan Siddiqui, MD

Dr. Siddiqui is a Principal Investigator at Velocity’s Spartanburg, SC, site. His research interests include mechanical ventilation, critical care, lung cancer, and the management of chronic respiratory illnesses. He specializes in endobronchial ultrasound-guided lung biopsy, which he applies in Pulmonary and Internal Medicine studies at Velocity. Dr. Siddiqui also practices at Upstate Lung and Critical Care Specialists, serving patients in Spartanburg, Gaffney, Greenville, and Union, SC. He attended medical school at Baqai Medical University and completed his Internal Medicine residency at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, CT. He then pursued further training in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, MA.

Board Certifications: Critical Care Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Internal Medicine

A transformative model to confront the inefficiencies that plague clinical trials

1: Drug Development Technology. (2012). Clinical trial delays: America’s patient recruitment dilemma. | 2: Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. (2013). Impact report: 89% of trials meet enrollment, but timelines slip, half of sites under-enroll. Vol. 15, No. 1. | 3: Kaitin, K. I. (2006). Fastest drug developers consistently best peers on key performance metrics. Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development Impact Report, 8(5). | 4: Hess, J. (n.d.). Web-based patient recruitment: best opportunity to accelerate clinical trials.

of U.S. trials fail to meet enrollment timelines

of sites miss enrollment targets

daily operational losses for Sponsors for delayed trials

$k+

potential daily opportunity cost losses for delayed trials

Therapeutic capabilities

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI)
Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency
Asthma (including eosinophilic asthma)
Bronchitis

Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Chronic Rhinosinusitis
Common Cold and Cough
Cystic Fibrosis
Emphysema

Nasal Congestion and Nasal Polyps
Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis (NCFB)
Pulmonary Fibrosis
Rhinitis and Rhinoconjunctivitis
Upper Respiratory Infection (URI)

Let's talk about your next trial

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