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CenterWatch in the News
CenterWatch is recognized by many of the top media outlets and publications around the world as a leading source of information
on the clinical trials industry. Our data, statistics, and various services are regularly cited and referenced in articles on
the subject. Following are some of the articles in which CenterWatch has been mentioned.
ABC News Chicago, November 27, 2008
Special Segment: Hoping for a Breakthrough
According to CenterWatch, trials happen in phases. Phase one uses a small group of,
perhaps, 20 people. Researchers evaluate safety, dosage and side effects.
CenterWatch reports that, on average, 20 drugs make it from the clinical trial to the
pharmacy each year.
ACRP Wire, June, 11, 2009
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Best CRO of All?
Medpace, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, announces
that it has been named the 2009 Top Clinical Research Organization (CRO) by CenterWatch in
the publication's 2009 industry-wide U.S. investigator site survey. The survey was
administered to 22,500 sites and received responses from 950. In total, 11 CROs were named
in the study.
Applied Clinical Trials, November 2010
2010 Salary & Satisfaction Survey
Applied Clinical Trials collaborated with CenterWatch, an information services leader in the clinical trials industry, to broaden the audience of the survey; develop a more robust survey instrument; and bring its wealth of research and analysis of the industry to bear on the results.
Bio-IT World, February 21, 2012
Budget
Woes Stall Clinical Trials and Stymie Sites
In addition to its late appearance during study start-up, there are a host of other budgeting and
contracting challenges, all of which make this step a notorious bottleneck in clinical trials.
According to a CenterWatch survey, budgeting and contracting remains the top cause of study
delay. Of 950 participating investigative sites, 49% of respondents pegged contract and budget
negotiation and approval as a key factor in study delay, more than any other activity, edging
out patient recruitment, which scored 41%.
Bio-IT World.com, June 14, 2011
IntraLinks Survey Highlights Need for e-Clinical Document Exchange Tools
The IntraLinks Global Investigator Site Survey, which was conducted online by CenterWatch, examined what methods are currently used for clinical trial document exchange,
and the effectiveness of those methods. The majority of the 598 responses to the survey were clinical research coordinators, investigators and subinvestigators. 70% are
based in North America, 21% Europe and 9% Asia.
Bio-IT World, July 13, 2010
DIA 2010—Innovation, Issues-Driven, Upbeat
Significantly, despite, all of the e-improvements, CenterWatch reported in a 2009 study that less than 10% of clinical trials are completed on time. Additional research from CenterWatch indicated that 70% of investigative sites are more than one month behind in enrollment, and only 7% of sites report meeting enrollment timelines.
The Boston Globe, April 7, 2008
Drug Makers Turning to Nonprofits for Cash
Overall, disease foundations invested roughly $75 million in the biotech industry last
year, up from $7 million in 2000, according to CenterWatch Monthly, an industry publication.
Business Wire, June 11, 2010
PPD Rated One of Top CROs in Europe in 2010
PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPDI) today announced it has been rated one of Europe's top contract research organizations (CROs) in the 2010
CenterWatch European Site Survey. The company earned a number two ranking among CROs with 78.4 percent of participants rating PPD's
overall relationship quality as "excellent" or "good."
The survey is conducted by CenterWatch, a leading publishing and information services company focused on the clinical trials industry.
The European survey is conducted every two years and includes input from clinical research professionals at biopharmaceutical
companies, CROs and investigative sites.
Business Wire, December 14, 2009
Quintiles Honored as CRO of the Year at 2009 SCRIP Award
Quintiles has been named CRO of the Year by the prestigious SCRIP Awards. The panel of judges highlighted Quintiles' breadth of
services and its outstanding relationships with clients.
Results from the fourth annual "CRO Industry Update," an independent survey of executives at pharmaceutical and biotech companies
conducted by William Blair & Company in conjunction with CenterWatch, cited Quintiles as the most frequently mentioned favorite
CRO. For "Preferred CRO Ranking by Quality," Quintiles was rated number one, with three times as many votes as the second place
competitor.
Business Wire, August 24, 2009
Prominent Pharmaceutical Industry Journalist to Keynote at KIKA Clinical
Solutions U.S. User Group Meeting
KIKA Clinical Solutions announced that Sara Gambrill, Senior Editor of CenterWatch, will be
a keynote speaker at KIKA's U.S. User Group Meeting. KIKA is the leading provider of
advanced EDC solutions for clinical trials, and creators of the Veracity" Web-based
platform for Clinical Asset Management. The User Group Meeting will take place October 21
and 22 in Boston.
Sara Gambrill is a highly respected and sought-after speaker in the pharmaceutical arena.
She writes insightful feature stories about international and domestic clinical research
industry trends regularly for The CenterWatch Monthly and CWWeekly. Ms. Gambrill has also
written special reports about various clinical research market regions.
Contra Costa Times, October 14, 2008
Technology Would Test
Toxicity of New Drugs
About 50,000 clinical trials take place at any given time in the United States, according
to CenterWatch, a group that monitors research in the United States. Scientists and
researchers rely on volunteers to participate in clinical trials before a drug receives
approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Des Moines Register, October 16, 2012
Iowa Patients Participate in Clinical Trials
Finding patients can be difficult, however, as shown by a report issued by CenterWatch, a clinical trial specialty organization. The group showed that 70 percent of all trials nationwide have difficulty recruiting patients. Many patients don’t know about the trials.
EXPRESS Pharma, September 2008
Reducing Patient Dropouts
According to a CenterWatch survey of 1050 study volunteers, the most common reason for
participation was to find relief (60 percent) followed by an urge to advance science (23
percent), to earn extra money (11 percent), and to receive better medical care (six
percent). Almost 50 percent of trial delays result from patient enrolment problems. 86
percent of all US clinical studies fail to recruit the required number of subjects on
time.
FierceCRO, February 16, 2012
Ockham adds international oncology CRO ops in Nexus buyout
Cary, NC-based Ockham has broadened the scope of its oncology CRO network with the
acquisition of Nexus Oncology. The deal will swell Ockham's staff to 300 in 12 countries
as Nexus founder Clare Wareing moves into the role of chief scientific officer of the
combined company. The buyout price was not revealed.
Ockham started out in business some 25 years ago as ASG, a staffing company focused on IT.
But according to an article in CenterWatch, ASG wound up snagging the “distressed” Ockham
operation and its 60 workers focused on Phase I and II cancer studies back in 2009.
Forbes Magazine, September 15, 2008
Patient Power
A hundred more patient-group-backed drugs, one-twentieth of all the medicines in
development, are in human clinical trials for Parkinson's, diabetes, muscular dystrophy
and a litany of cancers. These patient power brokers will give drug companies $90 million
this year, 13 times as much as in 2000, according to CenterWatch, a research firm that
analyzes clinical trials.
Gazette.Net, August 28, 2009
Biotechs Outsource to Cut Costs
According to CenterWatch, a newsletter that tracks the clinical trials industry, many CROs are on a strong stock and revenue run as
pharmaceutical companies continue to outsource more of their clinical trials. Giant CRO Covance of Princeton, N.J., reported
second-quarter revenues of $489 million, up from $461 million for the same quarter in 2008. Other major CROs, including Parexel
of Boston and Kendle of Cincinnati and Charles River of Wilmington, Mass., are also on a strong growth curve.
i3, June 2, 2010
i3 Takes Top Spot in CenterWatch Ranking of CROs in Europe
i3 ranked number one in the CenterWatch biennial survey of investigative sites in Europe. i3 led the list in all six of the overarching categories: General Project Management, Study Initiation, Ongoing Study Conduct, Staff Professionalism,
Workstyle, and Grant Payment Process. Of the 29 attributes measured, i3 was rated in the top three in 28, and was rated fourth in the 29th.
Indianapolis Business Journal, August 1, 2009
Lilly software offshoot sells for $11M
Economy, funding challenges dash hopes for big returns
Phase Forward, with second-quarter sales of $52.5 million, has been snapping up smaller
companies. Recently it announced it would buy the Integrated Voice and Web Response unit
of Covance for $10 million.
"What we've been seeing as of late is the acquisition of smaller companies that have
built up strength, expertise and products in a particular area by large, global companies
that either want to build on their own strengths in that area or enter into it," said
Sara Gambrill, senior editor of Boston-based CenterWatch, a top tracker of the clinical
trials industry.
"Technology companies in the clinical research space increasingly need to be able to
offer to pharma a single platform that will meet all their data collection and management
needs globally," she added.
Life Science Leader, February 8, 2011
Miami was warm, but the Pharma R&D Leadership Summit was hot!
At this meeting, speaker/moderator Ken Getz of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development
(as well as CenterWatch and e-Cliniqua) did a stellar job of keeping the discussions going as
well as limiting them to the allotted time — which became even more challenging during a spirited
exchange during dinner.
Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2009
Medical Clinical Research Slows for Lack of Patients
Enrollment shortages have delayed or canceled trials on experimental therapies.
Researchers are trying to reverse that trend, in part by using databases to connect
patients with possible new cures.
Enrollment problems delay more than 70% of clinical trials from one to six months,
according to a 2007 survey by CenterWatch, a Boston-based company that publishes
information on clinical trials. In cancer care, less than 5% of patients enter clinical
trials, even though more than 700 cancer therapies many that are highly promising clog
the research pipeline.
MedCity News, June 14, 2011
Mid-sized CROs perform as good or better than larger ones, survey says
It's a different approach than the one taken by CenterWatch, which released a report last month ranking CROs based on responses from investigator sites.
That report ranked Wilmington, North Carolina-based PPD (NYSE:PPDI) as the top CRO, based on investigator responses.
MedCity News, May 2, 2011
PPD is top global CRO in CenterWatch survey; N.C. CROs take 4 of top 10 spots
A North Carolina CRO stands atop the rankings of a major industry survey and it's not Quintiles. PPD (NYSE:PPDI), based in Wilmington, North Carolina, is the
top-rated global clinical research organization in the 2011 CenterWatch Global Investigative Site Survey. The results are based on survey responses from clinical
research site professionals in more than 70 global locations. PPD led all CROs receiving responses of "excellent" or "good" on 84 percent of survey responses.
Medill Reports from Northwestern University's Medill School, October 29, 2009
The Recession is Turning More People into Paid Clinical Trial Volunteers
Clinical trials, which are conducted to gather safety and efficacy data for drug companies by testing new drugs on volunteers,
are fast becoming a part of people's everyday lives. Experts say more people are volunteering for clinical researches as a
desperate attempt to earn money
"We don't have the exact numbers, but we have heard anecdotally from research centers that the numbers have increased," said
Steve Zisson of CenterWatch, a Boston-based organization providing clinical trial resources to professionals and patients.
There are more than 40,000 clinical trials in communities across the country currently registered with the U.S. National Institutes
of Health. The trials are required as part of the Food and Drug Administration review process for new medications.
While most volunteers in trials participate for altruistic reasons, monetary incentive has never been ruled out, Zisson suggested.
The News & Observer, April, 2, 2009
Drug Tester Resists Trend; Health Decisions is Adding Staff
Hiring at many contract drug researchers in the Triangle has slowed since last
summer...Centerwatch, a monthly publication tracking the CRO industry, blames the
slowdown on drug makers canceling or delaying trials and dropping development programs to
save money.
Orthopedics Today, February 2012
Internet-based
technology facilitates clinical outcome data collection and adverse event monitoring
In this day and age of increasing health care costs combined with limited payer resources,
comparative-effectiveness research is required to determine the best and most cost-effective
methods for treating patients. However, barriers to clinical outcomes research include
limitations in surgeon and clinical research staff time and expertise, as well as the cost
of conducting the research itself.
Research indicates that DTP studies could work in 20% of U.S. clinical trials annually.
That is $7 billion in annual research spending, according to CenterWatch data.
Outsourcing-pharma.com, September 30, 2009
Benefits of SMS for trial recruitment are self-evident, says Axiom
Axiom Accelerated Patient Recruitment hopes its new range of SMS, text messaging, services can help CROs and pharma
sponsors reach more potential study participants.
Recruitment and retention are a perennial problem for the trials sector, causing contract research organization (CRO) to
continually seek out new ways of reaching and maintaining contact with patients.
In the last few months a number of companies, notably CenterWatch, TrialX, goBalto and Pfizer through its partnership with
Private Access, have set up online systems to connect CROs with patients to help address the issue.
Outsourcing-pharma.com, August 20, 2009
Pfizer and Private Access team up for trial recruitment
website
US drug giant Pfizer has joined the growing list of organisations seeking to
boost trial recruitment via the web, teaming up with IT firm Private Access to create a
website designed to increase clinical trial awareness and
participation.
The website's focus on patients differs from the approach taken by CenterWatch's
partnership with TrialX. Under that deal, announced yesterday, CenterWatch has granted
TrialX access to its list of current clinical programmes for distribution via the latter
firm's suite of web 2.0 solutions.
Outsourcing-pharma.com, August 19, 2009
CenterWatch and TrialX hope to boost recruitment via web 2.0
A new partnership between CenterWatch and TrialX may help boost flagging
recruitment rates by helping patients more easily and rapidly connect with relevant
clinical trials.
Despite efforts to increase the number of participants through greater use of electronic
data capture (EDC) and distribution systems, contract research organisations (CRO)
continue to identify patient recruitment and retention as the key bottlenecks in the
trial process.
While EDC and protocol improvements can help recruitment rates by making it easier for
subjects to participate, such measures do not address the need to increase awareness
among patients and physicians of precisely which clinical programmes are available.
It is just this issue that the partnership is designed to address. Under the new
three-year deal CenterWatch will share its extensive database of clinical trials with
health IT specialist TrialX for inclusion on its website.
Outsourcing-pharma.com, June 18, 2009
More trial info would boost physician referrals, says
CenterWatch
Physicians say a lack of information about candidate drugs often prevents them from
referring patients for clinical trials, according to a new survey by sector analysts
CenterWatch.
The finding, which is based on responses from 250 physicians across the US, suggests that
contract research organisations (CRO) efforts to promote trials do not always hit their
targets.
The knock on effect of such delays to recruitment is to prolong trial programmes, cost
pharma sponsors more money and, ultimately, mean that new drugs take longer to reach the
patient.
CenterWatch's director of market research Mary Jo Lamberti, who will present the full
results at the Drug Industry Association (DIA) annual meeting in San Diego next week,
gave Outsourcing-pharma an overview of her presentation.
Outsourcing-pharma.com, February, 19, 2009
Trial Sites Call for More EDC and Recruitment Investment
Study site operators want greater use of EDC technologies and more pharma
industry investment to boost patient recruitment and reduce delays in clinical trials,
according to an industry report due to be published next week.
The study, conducted by clinical research industry analysts CenterWatch, was designed to
examine the relationship between drug developers and almost 2,000 clinical trial sites
worldwide.
Ahead of the report's official unveiling at the upcoming ExL Pharma's Investigator
Relationship Management conference, lead author Mary Jo Lamberti, director of
CenterWatch's market research unit, told Outsourcing-pharma about some of the trends that
had emerged.
Dr. Lamberti explained that, in addition to improved use of electronic data capture (EDC)
and recruitment resources, the trial sites called for simpler study protocols requiring
fewer amendments as well as greater flexibility on budgets and any modifications that
must made.
In the globalised drug market, regulators, keen that trials are representative of diverse
populations, are increasing the pressure on drug firms to conduct them at multiple
suites.
This will undoubtedly benefit clinical research organisations (CROs) offering EDC
platforms to pharmaceutical industry sponsors seeking to ensure data uniformity and
consistency of studies carried out in multiple countries.
Additionally, growth of the trials sector in emerging markets like China, India and, more
recently, Central and Eastern Europe, has further increased the need for effective remote
management systems.
EDC can save $15m, study
The CenterWatch findings fit very well with the results of survey conducted by UK
research group Datamonitor in 2008, which revealed that EDC and electronic trials
management systems could save life science and pharmaceutical firms up to $15m (¬11.8m) a
year in mailing and protocol distribution costs alone. Principal author, Datamonitor's
Ruchi Mallya, predicted that: "An efficient e-clinical platform will provide
companies with substantial cost and time savings and will play a vital role in changing
the research process for the better."
Mallya also suggested that e-clinical technologies will play a vital role in the
implementation of adaptive trials that require continuous analysis and modification of
protocols and added that demand for effective solutions would continue to grow through to
2012.
The predicted expansion is good news for EDC players like Phase Forward, Medidata and
Metavante Technologies, which bought Bio-Imaging's e-trials business CapMed in
January.
The rise of the EDC market will also be a boon for contracting majors such as Parexel and
Jubilant Organosys, which have begun providing electronic data management to clients both
as a part of their respective clinical development offering and as a stand alone
outsourced service.
PharmExec.com, January 9, 2009
Insuring Global Clinical Trials
CenterWatch has estimated that 20 to 30 percent of all clinical trials are being
conducted in what it characterizes as "ascending regions."
Pharmafocus, April, 21, 2009
Is the UK falling behind in clinical trials?
The UK is thought to be losing ground in particular to lower cost emerging markets in
Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia.
In global ranking of overall country effectiveness for clinical trials, the UK now ranks
equal sixth with the Czech Republic after the US, China, India, Russia and Brazil,
according to authoritative research by Centerwatch. The ranking is based on analysis of a
number of factors including cost efficiency, regulatory conditions, infrastructure and
environment.
Pharma Times, August 13, 2013
CenterWatch, Study Scavenger partner for recruitment app
US-based business-information specialist CenterWatch is extending the reach of its Clinical Trials Listing Service through a partnership with Study Scavenger, which offers a free smartphone app to help potential study participants search for clinical-research opportunities.
PharmaTimes Online, January 4, 2011
European SMOs could drive US investigative site consolidation
A fragmented market for clinical research investigative sites in the US could offer rich pickings for ascendant site management organisations (SMOs) based in Europe, a new report suggests.
According to CenterWatch, the US-based information provider of clinical trials information, a new breed of SMO has been "quietly growing in Europe, expanding into emerging regions including Latin America, India and China during the late 2000s with ambitious plans to enter the US market in 2011".
Pharma Times, August 24, 2009
CenterWatch partners with TrialX to Expand Reach of CT Listings
US-based information source CenterWatch has agreed to share its clinical trials listing
database with TrialX, the recently launched online platform where patients can connect
with investigators and enroll in clinical studies.
Under the three-year partnership, the listings will appear simultaneously on the
respective websites, www.centerwatch.com and www.trialx.com. CenterWatch will also
benefit from TrialX's integration with a range of online services, including social media
sites (e.g., Twitter,YouTube) and internet health portals (Google Health, Microsoft
HealthVault), as well as TrialX's soon-to-be released iPhone application.
PharmaVoice.com, October 2010
CenterWatch Service Matches Sponsors, Investigative Sites
CenterWatch's recently introduced grant notification service is designed to assist biopharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations (CROs) in indentifying and engaging investigative sites worldwide to conduct Phase I through IV clinical trials.
PharmaVoice.com, April 2010
Specialty CROs: Market Opportunities
Last year was a difficult year in the clinical trial space; CROs and sites had to contend with a half dozen pharmaceutical
company mergers, project cancellations, and tighter study budgets. But CenterWatch experts say there is opportunity amid the
turmoil, and they expect the market to begin to turn around late this year as pharmaceutical companies ramp up R&D again.
PharmaVoice.com, October 2009
Upfront: Milestones
CenterWatch, a provider of industry news, data analysis, and proprietary market research for clinical trials professionals
and patients, recently celebrated its 15th anniversary. CenterWatch, which was founded in 1994, was acquired by Jobson Medical
Information in 2008.
"We are extremely proud of this achievement and the contributions we have made in this community," says Steve Zisson,
editorial director of CenterWatch. "We have grown up in an industry that has seen considerable change over the last decade and
a half and CenterWatch has continued to change with it to stay relevant."
View on Clinical OperationsA Supplement to PharmaVoice, June 2009
Metrics Predict Success for Clinical Trials
A CenterWatch survey says 70% of clinical trials run late, something that has changed
little over the years. In response, the clinical trial industry is making better use of
metrics that improve feasibility planning and selection of trial sites.
Philadelphia Business Journal, December 5, 2008
Drug Trials Cause Tribulations
A recent poll found 94 percent of people recognize the importance of participating in
clinical research in order to assist in the advancement of medical science, yet 75
percent of the general public state that they have little to no knowledge about the
clinical research enterprise and the participation process. (Source: CenterWatch)
The Placer Herald, July 12, 2012
Living with diabetes: Rocklin man finds fresh hope
Clinical study results in new drug approved by FDA
[Gordon] Fish utilized various resources to locate clinical studies, but the one he found the most useful was a publication and associated website, CenterWatch and centerwatch.com.
"Our primary goal is to provide information and resources to patients, caregivers and family members," regarding clinical studies, said Joan Chambers, CenterWatch's chief operating officer. Established in 1994, CenterWatch is a "patient centered" organization that endeavors to provide easy-to-understand clinical research information to patients who may benefit from it.
Politico, September 9, 2010
A Better Way to Faster Cures
In 2008, U.S. disease-fighting foundations invested about $90 million in biopharmaceutical company drug development, according to CenterWatch, a clinical trials market research group. That’s about 20 percent more than in 2007, and 13 times more than in 2000.
Redbook, February 2009
How a Clinical Trial Could Save Your Life
How to find a clinical trial
You might consider volunteering for a study if you have a disease and standard
treatments aren't working, if you have a condition for which there's no cure, or if
you're at high risk of developing a serious health problem due to family history or
other factors. First, ask your doctor if he or she knows of any clinical trials that
might help you. You can also check out these resources:
- At centerwatch.com, you can search for studies and get email notifications when
new trials for your condition are listed.
San Antonio Current, September 20, 2011
More San Antonians resorting to drug trials, despite the risks they pose
Heightened participation levels brought on by the economic slump is a national trend, with a
16 percent increase in clinical volunteers since the economic downturn, according to
Alex O’Meara, author of Chasing Medical Miracles, a book that explores the world of
clinical trials. CenterWatch, a Boston-based organization providing clinical trial resources
to professionals and patients, confirms such increases.
The Scientist.com, August 5, 2009
Contract Research on the Rise
CROs first showed up in the biotech industry in the late 1970s and quickly took on a
significant role in research and development (R&D), eventually expanding from drug
discovery and preclinical work to clinical trials, drug manufacturing, and even
marketing. According to a 2005 CenterWatch survey, the $15 billion CRO industry was
growing at a rate of 12% each year, but data from the past two years show a
substantially higher annual growth rate of nearly 17%. In 2007, of the approximately
$60 billion biotech and pharmaceutical companies spent on drug development, $15 billion
(25%) was outsourced. Last year, despite the economic recession, the CRO market grew to
nearly $20 billion 29% of the $74 billion drug development budget.
UPI.com, March, 14, 2009
Many Clinical Trials Lack Patients
Many clinical trials for experimental therapies have been delayed or canceled for lack
of patients, U.S. researchers say.
A dearth of patients delay more than 70 percent of U.S. clinical trials anywhere from
one to six months, according to a 2007 survey by CenterWatch, a Boston firm that
publishes information on medical research.
University of California San Francisco News Center, November 22, 2011
Event Highlights the Value of Clinical Research
Although the vast majority of Americans (94 percent) understand the importance of taking part
in clinical research to advance medical science, according to the online resource CenterWatch,
three in four adults have little to no knowledge about how clinical research works or how to
participate.
