i3 announces 4-continent expansion

In Latin America the firm has acquired of one of the largest privately held contract research organizations (CROs), with operations in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay. The full service CRO specialises in clinical research and professional outsourcing and has a wide range of medium to large biopharmaceutical clients, said the firm. Speaking on the decision to move into Latin America, Nigel Page, president of i3 Research said: "This market is 500m people strong and the pharmaceutical industry's demand for CRO-related services is growing rapidly there." Meanwhile, i3 also is expanding into another very high growth market - India - by opening a new office in Delhi. Form this location i3 said it will provide clinical research and data services offerings for India-specific and global trials. Specific services will include project management, monitoring, regulatory and quality assurance services, as well as data entry and programming, data management, biostatistics and statistical programming. In addition, the firm will run a staffing solutions business in order to help meet the temporary staffing needs of pharmaceutical companies in India - clinical staff recruitment and retention is a particular problem that is currently plaguing India's developing clinical trials industry. Furthermore, i3 said it is also opening a new office in Poland, adding to its existing Eastern European presence in Czech Republic, in order to "support its rapidly growing resources" in the region. In addition, the company is planning to physically expand its offices in France, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. i3 has been actively beefing up its presence of late, earlier this year it acquired the Canadian company Innovus, a provider of health economics and outcomes research, as well as Pacific Pharma Partners, a CRO that has allowed i3 to strengthen its presence in the Asia/Pacific marketplace. After the latest planned expansions, the growing firm will be able to offer its services in countries across six continents. "Pharmaceutical companies want to expedite development and gain cost efficiencies through well-run trials that are completed on time and on budget," said Glenn Bilawsky, CEO of i3. "Our new expansion will help us accomplish those goals while still maintaining i3's commitment to specialisation and quality."