PRA said it signed an agreement with equity firm Genstar Capital to
be bought back by the firm for around $790m (€580m) while the CRO
posted a 90 per cent tumble in profit in Q2 due to heavy
restructuring charges.
The total contract research organisation (CRO) market is expected
to reach $24bn (€18bn) by 2010 as biopharma companies' spending on
outsourcing services continues to soar, new research reveals.
Despite the hype, countries in emerging markets are still very much
trailing behind the US in the number of Food and Drug
Administration (FDA)-approved studies being conducted, particularly
the Asia-pacific, a survey by Parexel reveals.
PPD has posted positive financial results for the second quarter of
the year in net contrast to its lacklustre performance in Q1, but
cut its earning outlook for the full year.
Schering-Plough has licensed acadesine (AICA-riboside), a potential
first-in-class drug for the prevention of ischemia-reperfusion
injury from PeriCor Therapeutics to bolster its cardiac
therapeutics pipeline.
Parexel talks to Outsourcing-Pharma about its clinical research
experiences in emerging hot spot Latin America, as the contract
research organisation (CRO) has a presence in every country in this
continent that conducts international...
US researchers have developed a microfluidic device for purifying
and concentrating DNA directly from blood samples that could speed
up the use of genomics in clinical trials.
Quintiles is planning to spend $19m ($14m) to consolidate its US
central lab and its clinical services office in
Georgia to one location and expand capacity at the same
time.
PharmaNet Development Group has reached a significant turning point
in its attempt to finally close the doors on a long period of
trouble with its Phase I clinical business.
Outsourcing-Pharma.com compiles the news that featured in the
clinical contract community this past week, involving Encorium,
Amarex, Paragon Biomedical, Pacific Biometrics and Parexel.
One of the most significant deals to take place in the vaccine
industry in the last ten years was signed late last night between
vaccine heavyweight Novartis and biotech firm Intercell.
India's Reliance Life Sciences (RLS) is planning an acquisition in
Europe or in the US joining the slow infiltration of Indian firms
cementing themselves in Western markets.
Pfizer has had its first day in a Nigerian court in a legal dispute
over its alleged involvement in the death of Nigerian children
during a clinical trial 11 years ago.
Parexel talks to Outsourcing-Pharma about Phase I trials, touching
on trends and growth opportunities, future plans for India and
lessons learned from Tegenero.
Finnish CRO Technical Research Center (VTT) has spun-off Zora
Biosciences, which becomes the only company in the Nordic region to
provide metabolomics services to pharma companies - a market with
high potential.
Despite a lift of the ban on biological sample transportation out
of Russia, the country's clinical research industry is still in the
dark on the new rules to control export of such materials.
Diamyd Medical will continue with a clinical trial of its gene
therapy designed to protect insulin-producing cells in diabetes
patients, despite major errors invalidating the study.
Just as the clinical trials sector in Russia is
starting to take off, the industry has been dealt a severe
blow with the sudden and indefinite banning of biological sample
exports.
Veeda Clinical Research, an Anglo-Indian contract research
organisation (CRO) formed two years ago, said it will soon enter
the US market with a new acquisition - the fourth since the
company's creation.
Pfizer is facing fresh legal action from the Nigerian government
over its alleged involvement in the deaths of children it gave
an experimental drug to, more than a decade after the incident
occurred.
MDS Pharma has decided to continue the 'consolidation' of its
Canadian operations by putting an end to some activities at its
Montreal facility, cutting 160 jobs.
The latest ethical reputations of the world's largest
pharmaceutical companies have been revealed, with GlaxoSmithKline
(GSK) emerging as big pharma's Mother Theresa, according to a
recently-released compilation by Geneva-based...
China has today sentenced to death the former director of its State
Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), on charges of corruption,
according to reports in the Chinese media.
US-based contract research organisation (CRO) Covance is offering
microdosing studies for early clinical development without the
perceived drawbacks of having to radiolabel compounds for detection
through ultra-sensitive accelerator...
Clinsys Clinical Research, BioReliance Corporation, InVentiv
Health, PRA International, Kendle, Parexel, PPD, Wyeth and
PharmaNet have all had people on the move in the world of
pharmaceutical outsourcing.
Outsourced pharmaceutical R&D spending is set to increase
at twice the expected rate of general R&D expenditure
for the next five years, according to new research published this
week.
Kendle has climbed back into the black in the first quarter of 2007
after another quarter of strong sales although pre-tax profit
remains down on 2006.
The pharma industry sees great opportunities in using Radio
Frequency Identification (RFID) technology during clinical trials,
a new survey has revealed.
Clinical trial sponsors are outsourcing the majority of clinical
work in Phase I and gradually bringing functions back in-house as
compounds move through the development stages.
Parexel has announced healthy financial results for its third
fiscal quarter, despite another disappointing performance in its
medical communications business.
Contract research organisation (CRO) Chiltern has announced it is
expanding its services with a new solution aimed at helping clients
boost their clinical research staff recruitment process - an
increasingly difficult task due to...
An increasing number of factors are luring sponsors to offshore
clinical trials to 'hidden gems' across the globe, delegates heard
at this week's Accelerating Patient Recruitment & Retention in
Clinical Trials conference,...
Clinical trials are saving lives but may be killing the environment
due to their 'intensive energy use' and 'substantial
contribution to greenhouse gasses.'
Insurance firm Darwin is targeting the booming contract research
organisation (CRO) market by launching its own insurance cover
designed specifically for companies or organisations involved in
clinical research.