Parexel builds on Asian and Pacific presence with new Japanese office

Parexel opens its third office in Japan to address rising demands for clinical development and regulation services, and to supplement the capabilities of its Tokyo office which opened in 1997.

The opening of the new office in Nagoya contributes to the company's wider plan to expand and deepen its penetration into the Asian market, which Josef von Rickenbach, chairman and CEO of Parexel, says boasts “high quality data, advanced technologies, and large pool of well-trained professionals.”

The company hope this latest addition will go some way towards making for cheaper and faster drug development services in the Asia/Pacific region, which “is a very attractive geography for clinical research due to its large patient pool, cost effectiveness, regulatory environment, and infrastructure,” a Parexel spokesperson told Outsourcing-Pharma.

Furthermore, the spokesperson added that “Biopharmaceutical companies can benefit from rapid patient recruitment in Asia due to access to large patient populations and patients who have not been exposed to competing treatments.”

Japan; second largest pharmaceutical market in the world

The Waltham, UK-based firm will assist Japanese pharmaceutical companies with the development and commercialisation of their products, as well as offering outsourcing services to the country which represents the second largest pharmaceutical market in the world.

Additionally, Parexel is encouraging Japanese pharma companies to plan global strategies in development by supporting ‘Japan plus Asia’ studies, in response to the drug lag challenge, and changes in PMDA regulations which are now allowing for inclusion of non-Japanese data for registration purposes.

According to the company, its ultimate goal is to have the latest therapies available to Japanese patients at the same time as in North America and Europe.

“We are also supporting Japan-based biopharmaceutical companies with simultaneous global clinical studies across a broad range of therapeutic areas, and providing eClinical solutions to accelerate the clinical development process,” said Rickenbach.

Although this has become the life sciences services provider's third site in Japan, including Tokyo, and Kobe, the latest in Nagoya is one of eighteen Parexel offices in the Asia/Pacific region, with operations extended to China, India, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.