Contract research news in brief
pharmafile | July 27, 2011 | News story | Research and Development |Â Â research and development newsÂ
PPD plays down sell-off rumours, Icon sees a steep profit decline, plus updates from Beaufort, PharmaNet, ClinStar and Biofocus/IMD.
PPD has played down speculation that it may be putting itself up for sale, but said in a statement that its board of directors “has asked management to review PPD’s strategic plan and capital structure with a focus on unlocking value for shareholders”. The company insists it is not currently engaged in discussions about an acquisition or merger with any other clinical service provider, although the Wall Street Journal suggested a private equity deal may be in the offing.
Irish contract research organisation Icon reported net service revenue of $233 million in the second quarter of 2011, up 4%, although profits fell 43% to $13 million and the company expects additional pressure on third-quarter profitability. In part the company’s profits are being impacted by costs related to its strategic alliance with Pfizer, which are being borne ahead of the expected revenue boost from the deal.
US CRO Beaufort has added a quality oversight monitoring service to its portfolio of contract research services in response to “increased scrutiny and enforcement activity from the FDA and other regulatory agencies” as a result of failures to properly monitor clinical trials. The service will help pharma companies monitor the quality and compliance of the CROs they hire, Beaufort said.
inVentiv Health subsidiary PharmaNet has been awarded a contract to help develop a preliminary clinical trial protocol for a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in development at BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics. The CRO will help BrainStorm draw up an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the therapy – called NurOwn – which is based on human mesenchymal stem cells.
Eastern European CRO ClinStar has expanded its US presence, opening a second office on the East Coast. The new unit, in Durham, North Carolina, joins ClinStar’s existing West Coast branch in San Francisco. The company said the new office “solidifies our commitment to offer our clients the local expertise and knowledge they need to successfully conduct clinical trials in Russia and Eastern Europe while ensuring our business operates in accordance with the proven business and management principles practiced in the West”.
Pre-clinical CRO BioFocus and InterMed Discovery GmbH have joined together to boost their services in natural product discovery. Under the terms of the deal, IMD is making its natural product screening libraries available to BioFocus and providing follow-on services. In turn, BioFocus will incorporate these capabilities as part of its own drug discovery offering to clients.
Phil Taylor
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