Contract sales & marketing

‘If Pfizer had developed Lipitor today it wouldn’t be a white tablet’

11-Mar-2014 By Fiona BARRY

FDA guidance on product design has driven demand by pharma for tailored designs for tablet colour, size and shape, specialist consultancy Colorcon told Outsourcing-Pharma.com.

UDG adds EU and US firm to its communication service division

03-Mar-2014 By Dan Stanton

UDG Healthcare has expanded its position in the pharma communications industry with the $144m (€105m) acquisition of KnowledgePoint360.

Horizon IPO to raise $42m for R&D personalised medicine services

27-Feb-2014 By Dan Stanton

With a drive towards personalised medicine, Big Pharma is acting like mini-biotech firms in its approach to R&D, says Horizon Discovery who is launching a £25m ($42m) IPO.

Cult following: JCR asks Plasticell to help it differentiate stem cells

26-Feb-2014

Tokyo, Japan-based JCR Pharmaceuticals has asked UK firm Plasticell to help develop differentiation protocols for its range of candidate stem cell-based therapies.

DKSH gets the Glory citing increased demand for Asian expansion services

19-Feb-2014 By Dan Stanton

DKSH has acquired Macau-based distributor Glory and says demand for Asian market access is being driven from both Western and local pharma firms.

UDG slims down services business into single unit

04-Feb-2014 By Fiona BARRY

Pharmaceutical services provider UDG Healthcare (formerly United Drug) announced today the integration of its sales, marketing and medical service divisions into one group, named Ashfield.

Pfizer extends facility management contract with CBRE

07-Jan-2014 By Dan Stanton

Pfizer has renewed and extended its contract with facility management company CBRE to cover 55 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

GSK mulls making target-free sales model a requirement for contractors

18-Dec-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

Contract sales and marketing people who want to work for GSK should think about adopting the new target-free remuneration policy the UK pharmaceutical firm outlined earlier this week.

Industry Group blasts GSK's supplier demands in letter to UK Prime Minister

06-Dec-2013 By Dan Stanton

An industry group has criticized GSK’s alleged demands for supplier rebates and bonuses in a letter sent to the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron.

Hikma latest to ink long-term prefilled deal with 'ambitious' Unilife

26-Nov-2013 By Dan Stanton

Unilife has signed a $40m long-term supply agreement with Hikma and says it is committed to becoming the world’s largest and most successful injectable drug delivery systems supplier.

update

DSM plans to merge pharma business with Patheon

19-Nov-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

Royal DSM wants to merge its pharmaceutical products business with Patheon and has signed a deal with the latter's owner, investment group JLL Partners.

inVentiv takes a stranglehold on the patient adherence market with acquisition

04-Nov-2013 By Zachary Brennan

Pharma service provider inVentiv Health has acquired Catalina Health and is merging it with its subsidiary Adheris to create the largest direct-to-patient adherence program in the US.

Dendreon names PharmaCell as EU CMO amid takeover rumours

29-Oct-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

Dutch CMO PharmaCell BV will produce prostate cancer treatment Provenge under a new contract with takeover speculation target Dendreon.

McKesson pushes for global reach with $8.3bn Celesio deal

28-Oct-2013 By Dan Stanton

McKesson Group has completed the acquisition of logistics firm Celesio as it eyes a global strategy, targeting the European and Latin America markets.

DrugDev acquires site payment specialist CFS Clinical

22-Oct-2013 By Zachary Brennan

Sponsor network developer DrugDev on Monday announced it would acquire CFS Clinical, which specializes in managing the financing of clinical trials. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Recipharm targets German-speaking region for development opportunities

21-Oct-2013 By Dan Stanton

Recipharm has partnered with market entry firm FHS Unternehmensberatung to target development projects in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

Recipharm Gets Regulatory Nod to Make and Package Abstral in Japan

23-Sep-2013 By Dan Stanton

Recipharm has received approval to manufacture and package the opioid drug Abstral for Kyowa Hakko Kirin in Japan.

Survey finds CRO sales reps should be more creative

18-Sep-2013 By Zachary Brennan

CRO sales representatives do a good job of explaining the basics of their service offerings but they need to be more innovative in tackling sponsors’ individual challenges, according to a new survey.

Harlan expands contract breeding services further in Southern Europe

18-Sep-2013 By Zachary Brennan

CRO Harlan Laboratories, has expanded its specialty research production facility in southern Europe to provide its complete portfolio of contract breeding and health monitoring services to clients in Europe.

inVentiv Sues US HHS Arguing New Rules Restrict Rx Reminders Business

10-Sep-2013 By Zachary Brennan

inVentiv Health company Adheris filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week claiming that a new regulation imposes unconstitutional restrictions on part of its patient reminder business.

Edible Silica Microtags: Eating Away at Counterfeit Drugs

09-Sep-2013 By Zachary Brennan

Pharma manufacturers may turn to a new technology -- edible microtags -- as way to help manufacturers root out counterfeit drugs and protect patients.

Wuxi’s Q2 Revenue Jumps as China Lab Services Drive Growth

14-Aug-2013 By Zachary Brennan

CRO Wuxi’s Q2 net revenue increased by almost 10% compared to the same quarter last year as its China-based lab services grew by almost 20%.

Marken Expands Kit-Building Ops in Singapore to Meet Client Demand

13-Aug-2013 By Zachary Brennan

Due to growing client demand, Marken will expand its kit-building operations in Singapore to increase production by about 10,000 kits per month.

Covance Launches New Contract Service for Biopharma, Med Device Clients

08-Aug-2013 By Zachary Brennan

CRO Covance is looking to help its biopharmaceutical and medical device clients manage their contract terms and associated payments better as some companies are losing almost 5% of US revenue from insufficient processes and contract management systems.

United Drug Takes Next Spanish Step with €12m Expansis Buy

01-Aug-2013

Ireland-based commercialization services firm United Drug has announced plans to buy Spanish contract pharmaceutical sales group Expansis for €12m ($15m).

Trial Site Feasibility Platform Looks to End Onerous Paper Questionnaires

03-Jul-2013 By Zachary Brennan

The antiquated process of evaluating clinical trial sites through paper questionnaires may be coming to an end thanks to a new online platform.

Patheon Sees Revenue Increase in Q2 as CMO Business Thrives

13-Jun-2013 By Zachary Brennan

Canadian CMO Patheon’s second quarter revenues increased almost 40 percent as the company’s commercial manufacturing services revenues saw a similarly high rise over the same period from last year.

Unither Acquires UCB Manufacturing, Packaging Plant in New York

04-Jun-2013 By Zachary Brennan

Unither has agreed to acquire UCB’s manufacturing and packaging facility in Rochester, New York, and will produce UCB products at the site.

Update

CROs, Sponsors Look to Service Providers to Comply with US Sunshine Act

23-May-2013 By Zachary Brennan

As CROs and pharmaceutical sponsors must begin collecting data in August to comply with the Sunshine Act, some companies are now looking to service providers for help.

Dispatches from Interphex

TFS Sees Increase in Modularization, Shorter Construction Timelines

21-May-2013

Biopharma companies are looking for more pre-fabrication of their facilities and to be able to expedite construction and meet tighter timelines, an expert told Outsourcing-Pharma.com.

DKSH Bags Pfizer Deal in Cambodia

17-Apr-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

DKSH has won a second deal with a Big Pharma firmin Asia in as many months, with US giant Pfizer signing up the firm as its agent in Cambodia.

InVentiv Pushes into Highly Sought-After Japanese Market with Collaboration

17-Apr-2013 By Zachary Brennan

CRO inVentiv Health has expanded its international presence through a partnership with one of the largest Japenese CROs, Bell Medical Solutions.

ICH Draft Guidance Aims to Help Stamp Out Drug Impurities

15-Apr-2013 By Zachary Brennan

The US FDA has opened for public comment a new ICH draft guideline that aims to help manufacturers identify and control mutagenic impurities during the development of new drugs.

Knipper Reaches Summit of Sample Management Business with InVentiv Purchase

08-Apr-2013 By Zachary Brennan

J. Knipper and Co. claims the acquisition of InVentiv Health’s sample management and fulfillment business makes it the largest manufacturer-to-physician drug sample services firm in the US.

GSK to Expand Supplier "Risk Mapping" in 2013

03-Apr-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

GSK will conduct more audits of key suppliers in 2013 as part of a ‘risk mapping’ effort to safeguard its £9bn ($13bn) a year outsourcing spend.

Big Pharma, CROs Gear Up for Summit Focused on Outsourced Trial Quality

28-Mar-2013

Some of largest pharmaceutical, biotech and CRO (contract research organizations) companies are beginning preparations for a summit in May to focus on how to manage quality in the outsourcing of clinical trials.

Survey: CROs See Rise in Employee Turnover Rate, Less Retention Bonuses

27-Mar-2013 By Zachary Brennan

CRO (clinical research organization) employees are switching jobs at dramatically higher rates than their counterparts in other industries, especially overseas, according to a survey on CRO compensation.

Agility, PSR Partner to Focus on Orphan Drug Development

12-Mar-2013 By Zachary Brennan

California-based CRO Agility Clinical and EU-based PSR Orphan Experts have partnered to allow orphan drug companies to utilize their safety and regulatory knowledge in both markets.

Accelovance Acquires CRO Division of Radiant Research to Expand Reach

11-Mar-2013 By Zachary Brennan

In a move to expand its vaccine and oncology research offerings, Accelovance has acquired Radiant Development, the CRO division of Radiant Research.

Biosimilars: Is the Market Getting Too Much Attention?

06-Mar-2013 By Zachary Brennan

As anticipation swells over how the biosimilar market will shape up in the US, some contract biologic manufacturing executives don’t seem to think the size of the market is worth all of the hype yet.