March 2000 – The CenterWatch Monthly : Volume 7, Issue 3, March 2000

Euro Sites Rate Sponsors: Room for Improvement

European sites rate Merck, Glaxo Wellcome and AstraZeneca as the best sponsors to conduct clinical trials. The average sponsor receives mediocre ratings that have not improved significantly over 1998 levels.

The success of top sponsors appears tied to decentralizing and empowering local affiliates, more effective use of pre-study and multicenter meetings, and improving protocol and case report form design.

Reaching Out to Minority Subjects

Industry efforts to enroll minority volunteers in clinical trials remain unsystematic and unsophisticated.

With larger numbers of drugs now entering clinical research phases and with rising numbers of patients per NDA, industry will need to draw from a broader base of patients that must include minorities.

CentreStage Europe: Synexus Positions Itself for the Future

The European SMO, Synexus, has acquired two smaller SMOs, bringing Synexus's total number of sites throughout the United Kingdom to 10. Synexus claims to be the largest SMO in the UK.

Previously, Synexus has focused on chronic studies, in which patients are drawn from the communities, not the hospitals. The new acquisitions will allow Synexus to broaden its capabilities to include acute studies.

Eye On: Asthma

CenterWatch has identified 55 therapies currently in the asthma drug pipeline with at least 26 more in the research and pre-clinical stages. The pipeline is focusing on drugs to lessen the dosage of steroids, which are effective standards in asthma care but also cause various harmful side effects. Asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions in the United States, and is especially prevalent among children and African-Americans.

• Month in Review
• Opportunities Underway
• TrialWatch