Study Conduct

Study: Longer data exclusivity for sponsors would increase innovation, extend life expectancy

Thursday, March 3, 2011 05:16 AM

If drugmakers were able to extend their clinical trial data exclusivity to 12 years, it would result in 228 new drugs over the next 50 years and extend the average life expectancy of Americans by 1.7 months.

More... »

Daiichi Sankyo acquires Plexxikon

Tuesday, March 1, 2011 12:35 PM

In another sign that biotechnology companies with promising pipelines are able to forge rich buyout deals, Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo has announced it will pay $805 million upfront and up to $130 million in near-term milestones for Plexxikon, a tiny oncology developer, according to Fierce Biotech.

More... »

CRI buys Lifetree, combining investigative sites on both coasts and across all trial phases

Monday, February 14, 2011 10:19 AM

Consolidation in the investigative-site space continues. CRI Worldwide of Mount Laurel, N.J., has acquired Lifetree Clinical Research of Salt Lake City, Utah, in a cash deal. Both are large, multi-phase sites with early-phase units. With the purchase, CRI now boasts 120 beds.

More... »

Technology companies adapt interactive video concepts for clinical trial informed consent

Monday, February 14, 2011 10:15 AM

Interactive videos, complete with soothing voices, explain hospital surgeries step-by-step, along with the risks and benefits, to enable patients to make informed decisions. Now, producers of these videos are adapting them for the clinical trials space, which for decades has relied on paper documents that often fail to adequately inform prospective volunteers.

More... »

New $1b NIH center will tackle early-stage drug development to ease industry risk of failure

Monday, February 7, 2011 07:00 AM

A billion-dollar U.S. government drug development center, which will focus on moving potential new discoveries out of the lab and into early-phase trials, could help biopharmaceutical companies improve their success rate in developing new treatments by reducing the risk of failure in early-stage research.

More... »

Healthcare advertising awards expand to include marketing campaigns for clinical trials

Monday, January 31, 2011 08:30 AM

While awards programs that recognize creative healthcare-related advertisements or public awareness campaigns usually are won by agencies that represent large pharmaceutical companies or international health organizations, marketing campaigns that support clinical trial activities have begun to win these prizes, too.

More... »

inVentiv Health buys i3 divisions, Campbell Alliance, allowing it to compete with CRO industry’s big players

Monday, January 31, 2011 08:00 AM

Ingenix, a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary that provides health care information to the managed care and drug development sectors, is selling off its clinical trial management and contract research services. Those holdings include i3 Research, i3 Statprobe and i3 Pharma Resourcing. 

More... »

Large SMOs Synexus and Radiant head to India seeking large pool of treatment-naïve patients

Monday, January 24, 2011 12:02 PM

Two large site management organizations (SMOs), Radiant Research and Synexus, are planning expansions into India.

More... »

NEWMEDS creates largest pool of international clinical trial data to advance psychiatric drug research

Tuesday, January 18, 2011 12:19 PM

An international consortium of pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions has created a massive database of clinical data that researchers hope can lead to better treatments for schizophrenia and depression.

More... »

Knowledge of trial process can drive away volunteers

Monday, January 10, 2011 07:02 AM

The more a potential trial volunteer learns about the clinical trial process, the less likely he or she is to agree to participate.

More... »