Pike picked to sit at Quintiles peak

Posted under Accenture, Blog, Chutes and Ladders, Companies, Diagnostics, Funding, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, outsourcing, Pharmaceuticals, Quintiles, Startups, Tom Pike, Universities, Videos by john

Tom Pike, a 22-year veteran at the management consulting firm Accenture, is taking the helm at biopharma services giant Quintiles. Founder Dennis Gillings is staying on as executive chairman. "Healthcare is the most important industry of the next quarter century, and I'm excited because Quintiles is right at the center of improving the health of millions of people around the world," said Pike. Release

Russian biotech VC and Quintiles to join forces on pharma services startups

Posted under Biotech Venture Capital, Blog, Companies, CRO, Diagnostics, Funding, Maxwell Biotech Venture Fund, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Pharmaceuticals, Quintiles, Russia, Russian Venture Company Biofund, Startups, Universities, Videos by Ryan McBride

Quintiles has revealed a partnership with Russian Venture Company (RVC) Biofund as part of the CRO giant's ongoing efforts in Russia, where investors have been pushing to expand clinical R&D and recruiting U.S. companies to aid in the cause.

The partnership calls for the Moscow-based venture group to work with Quintiles to form new biopharma service businesses in Russia, with the VC expected to provide capital to back the startups, according to a press release. Quintiles, based in Durham, NC, aims to align its global expansion plans with efforts in Russia to grow its healthcare and biopharma sectors. The contract research powerhouse and RVC plan to announce new joint ventures as part of the partnership in the near future.

Russia's growing economy and large patient population have been a huge draw to drug developers and researchers. Quintiles says it's been conducting clinical development in the country since 1996 and has established Russian outposts in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk--making it one of the nation's largest CROs. At the same time, Russian investors have been shelling out capital to encourage U.S. drug developers to conduct research and advance commercial programs in the country.

RVC has announced its partnership with Quintiles amid a significant shift in the amount of R&D work that biopharma companies are outsourcing to service providers. And just yesterday, RVC announced its $100 million Maxwell Biotech Venture Fund had set up a U.S. base in Boston, aiming to fuel biotech and medtech startups. The plan is to target companies that don't mind including Russia in their clinical development and commercialization plans.

"With a population of almost 140 million, Russia is under-represented in terms of clinical development activity and over-represented in term of unmet medical needs," Ben Cons, global vice president, Quintiles Corporate Development, said in a statement. "Quintiles' goal is to address both of those issues in partnership with RVC Biofund, which has experience in starting businesses in Russia and capital to invest in the biopharma sector."

- here's the release

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Quintiles to hire 500 for new BPO hub in China

Posted under Blog, China, Companies, CRO, Diagnostics, Funding, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Pharmaceuticals, Quintiles, Startups, Universities, Videos by John Carroll

Underscoring the global shift of clinical development work to the East, Quintiles has mapped out plans to open its fourth hub in China with plans to hire 500 workers for a new business process outsourcing operation that will cater to a broad range of biopharma clients with a multilingual staff based in Dalian. The move comes just weeks after Quintiles announced plans to set up a new CRO based in Beijing.

In addition to supporting clinical operations at study sites scattered through the region, Durham, NC-based Quintiles plans to offer regional as well as global clients help with data management, biostatistics, medical writing, pharmacovigilance, post-marketing safety surveillance and back-office support.

"Following the success of Quintiles' Bangalore BPO center, which has over 1,000 people supporting global studies, the Dalian Center of Excellence will provide a North Asia support structure for our growing business in Japan, Korea and China," said Anand Tharmaratnam, senior vice president and head of Asia markets. Quintiles will provide clinical services in English, Japanese, Korean and Mandarin.

China has been one of the world's top emerging markets for Big Pharma. And drug developers of every stripe have been eyeing the country's growing outsourcing offerings as CROs flock to the region.

- here's the press release

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Quintiles launches CRO in booming China drug market

Posted under Blog, Companies, Diagnostics, Funding, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Pharmaceuticals, Quintiles, Startups, Universities, Videos by John Carroll

In yet another sign of the eastward drift of clinical development work, Quintiles says it is setting up a new CRO in China to help developers with everything from clinical trial management to regulatory submissions. The move comes as Quintiles, which has a staff of 300 in the Asian country, is planning to double the number of workers it has there. "We have an aggressive growth plan for China," says Quintiles China GM Ling Zhen. Release