Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), a global CRO, and the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA²LEN), a multidisciplinary research network, have formed a strategic alliance in which GA²LEN will provide PPD access to the network's allergy and asthma experts and to more than 100 allergy and asthma sites in Europe.

In return, the alliance will enable GA²LEN to increase the amount of research it conducts in allergic diseases, as well as provide the network with earlier access to new medical therapies to help accelerate their development. The alliance enhances GA²LEN's role in providing health care treatment options for people affected by allergic diseases.

"This agreement supports our strategy to establish collaborations across a wide range of therapeutic areas," said Paul Colvin, executive vice president of global clinical development, PPD. "The large size of this network, coupled with its extensive scientific expertise, strengthens our capabilities as a full development respiratory partner by increasing our ability to recruit sites and patients into allergy and asthma trials."

PPD and GA²LEN will work to reduce allergy and asthma study start-up times, increase the number of patients recruited for clinical trials, and ensure the availability of resources and training to increase the number of physicians and support staff conducting research.

"As a consortium of more than 100 leading European partners and multidisciplinary research centers specializing in allergic diseases, we conduct wide-ranging studies across Europe involving patients who face varying environmental and lifestyle impacts,” said Torsten Zuberbier, secretary general for GA²LEN. “This alliance with PPD builds our reputation as a leader in allergy and asthma treatment, as we will better understand the evolution and development of allergic diseases and how to treat them more effectively."