The following press release provides insight on industry trends and behaviors impacting all players involved in clinical research as analyzed and reported by CenterWatch.

Bayer, Lilly, Pharmacia and AstraZeneca Rated the Best Clinical Trial Sponsors by European Sites in a new CenterWatch Survey

BOSTON, Mass., May 13, 2002: CenterWatch reports that in its 2002 survey of 545 European clinical trial investigators, Bayer, Eli Lilly, Pharmacia and Astra Zeneca are the top companies to work with. Research investigators indicate that the best sponsor-site relationships involve more attentive study monitoring, realistic protocol design, improved staff training, and new approaches to building trust and support.

In all, European investigators rated more than 30 pharmaceutical companies in the CenterWatch survey. Detailed ratings from a large number of investigators are provided for 19 major sponsors. For the typical sponsor company, two out of every three sites rate the quality of their relationship as mediocre or poor. And, across a spectrum of responsibilities - from development planning to query handling -- sponsors have been largely unsuccessful at improving the quality of their site relationships since it was last measured by CenterWatch in 2000.

"With as much as 60% of all clinical projects involving a coordinated group of investigators from multiple countries, the feedback from European investigative sites sends an important message to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies," said Mary Jo Lamberti, Ph.D., Research Manager at CenterWatch. "Rapidly expanding drug pipelines and a growing reliance on globally coordinated trials involving many local affiliates suggest that the need for well-managed and productive site relationships has never been greater," she added.

CenterWatch, a Boston-based publishing company that focuses on the clinical trials industry, presents the results of this survey in its Spring issue of CenterWatch Europe. In the survey, pharmaceutical companies were evaluated across more than 20 individual research management attributes including the ability to design good protocols, to set realistic project timelines and to negotiate and support project grant activity.

As part of its analysis, CenterWatch interviewed top-rated clinical trial sponsors and identified several consistent best practices. Top-rated companies are implementing initiatives designed to build more successful relationships with their investigative sites in Europe. These initiatives include more prudent site selection practices, improved staff training, greater focus on providing more attentive local study monitors, and higher levels of responsiveness and support. Insights into best practices and details of a variety of initiatives are discussed in the Spring issue of CenterWatch Europe.

To order a copy of CenterWatch Europe contact Holly Anderson at 617-856-5168 or by email at holly.anderson@centerwatch.com. Sponsor companies interested in receiving a comprehensive report on their individual results of the 2002 CenterWatch European Site Report Card Survey should contact Dr. Mary Jo Lamberti, manager of Market Research Services, at 617-856-5956. Custom reports can be prepared that present company-specific results compared with past survey findings and industry benchmarks.

About CenterWatch

CenterWatch is a Boston-based information services company that focuses on the clinical trials industry. CenterWatch offers a variety of publications and services for clinical research and general health professionals, patients and health consumers. Along with disease specific reports and profiles of centers that conduct clinical trials, CenterWatch publishes a variety of searchable databases online including directories of several thousand drugs in clinical trials, drugs recently approved by the FDA, and clinical trial results. In addition, the CenterWatch web site lists more than 42,000 ongoing clinical trials seeking volunteers. An estimated eight million people will visit the CenterWatch web site at www.centerwatch.com to view these trial listings. CenterWatch is a subsidiary of Thomson Healthcare, publishers of the Physicians Desk Reference ®.

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