Under the agreement, Parexel will help the pharmaceutical company start clinical research studies and, on the commercial side, monitor product sales to meet portfolio needs, as well as granting Lilly access to its network of Asian and Australian talent.
Janice Chavers, a spokesperson for Eli Lilly, told In-PharmaTechnologist: “The relationship [with Parexel] is a result of thoughtful evaluations Lilly conducted to determine where we can consolidate operations to drive efficiency, and which capabilities we should own, partner or outsource.”
“This helps us meet our business needs and lets us focus on our core capabilities while Parexel lends its expertise to support study start-up and site monitoring,” she added.
Part of the plan to set up clinical trials involves Lilly fashioning relationships with multinational investigators and regulators to increase flexibility for managing monitoring resources and efficiency at meeting portfolio needs.
Josef von Rickenbach, chairman and CEO of Parexel explained that “Parexel has developed extensive local expert resources and capabilities, as well as in-depth knowledge for conducting high quality trials in [this] region.”
The Asia Pacific region is increasingly becoming one of the world’s largest and fastest growing markets for drugs, led by growth in China, India and Singapore, having recently seen a swell of multinational companies demanding market shares, and an increase of new medicines being developed to accommodate various illnesses.
It is thought that by the end of 2010, Asia and the Pacific region will account for 28.5 percent of the total global pharmaceutical market, generating over $260bn revenue.
RFID temp monitoring trial
In other news, Parexel has concluded a trial segment of its RFID-enabled sensor system, monitoring its temperature readings during transportation.
If successful the RFID system will be made available to clients and will be used to ensure that products undergoing tests are stored in suitable conditions during transit.