News from AAPS
Xcelience plans EU clinical trial supply expansion after opening new US plant
President and CEO Derek Hennecke told Outsourcing-Pharma.com the acquisition plan is designed to meet client demand in the EU as well as other countries, especially for Phase III packaging.
“As the market has slowly increased after the end of the recession, a lot of the materials are moving into Phase III,” he told us at this year’s AAPS. “Some companies may have stopped their earlier trials, but they are continuing with their later phase compounds, and that trend is continuing to grow.”
Hennecke added that demand has come particularly from mid-sized and large companies that are struggling to source “quality” services. He held industry consolidation responsible for the gap in the market.
“On the supply side there has been consolidation of companies in this area and a reduction of the number of the number of choices customers can go to,” he said.
“As the companies get larger it’s typical that offices tend to segment and they are not able to provide the same service as they might have in the past. That gives an entrance for Xcelience to come into that open niche.”
He aired his continued surprise and confusion that large companies are often are not “well served” by the large providers, adding: “I can only say it must be something endemic in companies as they grow. As these companies get bigger it might dilute the quality.”
When asked if acquisition plans could mean the same fate for Xcelience, Hennecke told us that though it will be “challenging” it will not fall into the same trap by steering away from the ‘one provider for all’ model.
“You won’t see Xcellience get into toxicology or clinical areas our clients are not asking us to get into,” he added. “I’ve always been and still am a very strong believer that you can’t provide a good product and service by being a one-stop-shop, so you won’t see us doing that.”
The manufacturing and formulation services provider expects to be granted the right to package materials for EU Phase I-III trials at its new 24,000 sq ft facility in Tampa later this week. The plant handles filling, blister packaging and walleting.
