US blood products and services provider HemaCare has added a new
research segment to the company with the acquisition of private US
firm Teragenix for $4.8m (€3.7m).
Large global contract research organisation, SFBC International,
has changed its name to PharmaNet Development Group in a bid to
make a fresh start and turnaround the troubled business after a
long period of bad press, legal difficulties...
California-based Synteract has scored a clinical trial management
contract from Northwest Biotherapeutics to bring one of the world's
first personalised medicines into a late stage clinical trial.
PPD International has launched a new software system that it claims
can speed up the review time of safety and endpoint-driven data
from large-scale clinical trials or registries.
Contract research organisations (CROs) are slashing clinical trial
times by an average of 30 per cent and the outsourcing trend is
showing no signs of slowing, as the pharma industry continues to
face rising pressure to reduce time-to-market...
Global drug development spending will top $105bn (€81.5bn) by 2010
and 40 per cent of this business is expected to be dished out in
outsourcing contracts - with contract research organisations (CROs)
emerging triumphant.
Pharma firms may soon have the chance to use US prisoners in
clinical drug trials after a new report by a panel of medical
advisers at the Institute of Medicine recommended government laws
against the practice be loosened.
Canada's Allied Research International (ARI) has expanded its Phase
I testing capabilities in response to the continued need for extra
capacity in this area.
The use of eClinical software in clinical trials is gaining in
popularity with pharmaceutical, biotechnology and contract research
organizations (CROs), as seen by the recent financial results of
two major industry providers.
Quintiles has turned its latest investment back towards home soil,
announcing plans to open a new US clinical data processing centre
in Williamston, North Carolina.
Covalent Group has signed a $1.7m (€1.3m) contract with a new,
undisclosed pharma firm to carry out a Phase II trial on a new drug
for atherosclerosis - a disease affecting the arterial blood
vessels throughout the body.
As global contract research spending remains robust, business is
booming for Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) as the US firm
reported a surge in sales, profits and new business for its second
quarter 2006.
Researchers have published a new article launching a scathing
attack on the growing incidence of healthcare professionals being
paid exuberant 'finder's fees' whenever they recruit a patient onto
a clinical trial.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will beef up its process for
disclosing the conflicts of interest of its advisory experts in a
bid to restore its reputation after a survey suggests its
scientists may be too closely tied with...
Premier Research has strengthened its presence in the US with the
recent purchase of Philadelphia-based clinical research
organisation (CRO) Scirex Corporation.
A new report compiled in the wake of the drug trial scandal, which
left six men fighting for their lives, has re-iterated the call for
scientists to proceed with extreme caution when testing such drugs
in the future.
Quintiles has announced the opening of a new biostatistics unit
that it claims will help pharma firms cut the time and cost of drug
development through the "adaptive design" of clinical trials.
Avalon Pharmaceuticals and ChemDiv have revealed details on a
collaboration in which the two companies are to engage in drug
discovery in the oncology sector focusing on small molecules as a
basis for therapeutic development.
Outourcing-Pharma focus on: FDA clinical trial initiatives
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a series of
new policy and regulatory developments to modernise the way it
monitors clinical trials and bioresearch.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has outlined a series of
imminent changes to the way it evaluates clinical trials in an
attempt to clamp down on fraud.
Outourcing-Pharma focus on: FDA clinical trial initiatives
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has signalled it will
soon allow a new "adaptive" approach to clinical trials in order to
streamline drug testing and speed drugs to market.
The Japanese pharmaceutical industry is eyeing India as a new hub
to conduct its contract manufacturing and clinical trials - India
is thirsty for new Japanese investment.
Despite looming threats from cheap Asian competitors, European
contract research organisations (CROs) still have a fighting chance
in the global R&D outsourcing market, according to a report by
research analysts Frost & Sullivan.
Archemix has announced the formation of a strategic alliance with
Elan to discover and develop first-in-class aptamer therapeutics to
treat autoimmune disease.
Parexel has linked arms with Synchron to cement itself in India for
the first time - joining the growing number of contract research
organisations (CRO) that are being lured to the region through the
promise of cost savings.
PRA International has been busy implementing an advanced data
management system as part of a number of new internal measures
aimed at improving operating efficiency and cutting the costs of
clinical trials.
Covalent Group has won several new clinical trial contracts to the
tune of $2.1m (€1.7m) and said it expects the windfall to help it
return to profitability for the second quarter.
As clinical trial activity in the Asia Pacific region continues to
boom, Novotech, the largest Australian owned contract research
organisation (CRO) has presented a checklist to help pharma firms
minimise risk when choosing a partner.
Data management solutions provider Phase Forward used the recent
Drug Information Association (DIA) to unveil a new programme
tailored to help clinical research organizations (CROs) of all
sizes optimise their eClinical profitability.
A new Phase I clinical services company, Roanoke Clinical Research
(RCR), has been formed to relieve pressure in the biopharma
industry as it continues to face bottlenecks in early stage
research and struggles to move forward fast...
Two French clinical research organisations (CROs), PharmaScan and
ClinicalLand, have joined forces to accelerate their growth and
reinforce their presence in the competitive clinical trials sector.
The world's largest patient recruitment firm, Synexus Clinical
Research has bagged its first Hungarian company in a bid to exploit
the growing clinical trial opportunities in the emerging Eastern
European market.
Top international clinical research organisation (CRO) Quintiles is
celebrating after winning two industry awards for its work in the
Asia Pacific region.
Schering-Plough has announced plans to adopt a new global model to
standardise its clinical trial operations throughout the world -
aimed at improving trial consistencies, efficiencies and saving
money.
ClinPhone has launched the first electronic solution for clinical
trials that enables central management of drug accountability
across the entire clinical supply chain, from distribution to
destruction.
World-leading clinical research organisation (CRO) Covance has
scored what it says is the biggest contract in its history - a
dedicated space agreement worth a minimum of $187m (€149m).
Outsourcing-Pharma.com focus on: cutting the cost of clinical trials
Outsourcing-Pharma.com sheds some light on how pharma companies can
make sure they are choosing a contract research organisations (CRO)
that will stick to the rules of ethics when running clinical trials
in poorly-regulated countries...
eClinical software and services firm etrials has launched the
latest version of its eDiary technology, which the company claims
will lead to cost savings and increased efficiency in the clinical
trial process.
Outsourcing-Pharma.com focus on: cutting the cost of clinical trials
Outsourcing-Pharma takes a look at how clinical research
organisations (CROs) operating in India can do their best to ensure
that clinical trials in the region are carried out ethically.
Outsourcing-Pharma focus: cutting the cost of clinical trials
After recent allegations in the media that poor and illiterate
patients in India are being used, often unknowingly, as human
guinea pigs to test new drugs for the pharma giants of the West,
Outsourcing-Pharma takes a look at how cutting...
Effective resource allocation and portfolio designs are vital to a
drug company's financial survival as backing the wrong product can
waste millions of dollars and vital development time.
Although clearing Parexel from contributing to the recent drug
trial disaster, a final UK Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency (MHRA) report slammed the US firm for making a
number of basic errors during the trial process.
IT services company HCL Technologies continues to experience rapid
growth through its ability to undercut clinical research
organisations (CROs) on price for clinical data management (CDM)
services through its new operations in India.
US biotech company Spherix has selected Singapore-based clinical
research organisation (CRO) Gleneagles to take charge of the Phase
III clinical trial program for its new Type 2 diabetes drug,
Naturlose.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced details of a new
initiative compelling drug companies to register all clinical
trials on humans after public pressure for more transparency.
Kendle has seized a chance to expand and diversify its business,
snapping up the Phase II-IV Clinical Services unit of Charles River
Laboratories after it decided to get out of this area of clinical
trial services and focus instead...
The market for smart pharma packaging will grow to $1.7bn (€1.3bn)
in 2013 from the current $21m, driven by the need for new clinical
trial compliance-and brand protection measures, according to a new
forecast report.