Outsourcing-Pharma rounds-up eClinical financial results

Outsourcing-Pharma reviews the latest financial reports from the eClinical sector with news from Datatrak International, Medidata Solutions and Perceptive Informatics.

Datatrak International

Profits perked up for Datatrak International in the third quarter after the eclinical technology and services company's income from operations peaked at $53,000 (€39,235), a far cry from the $420,000 (€310,755) loss it suffered in the comparable quarter last year.

Continuing the positive trend, the firm's revenue for Q3 of fiscal 2010 increased to $1.8m (€1.3m) compared to $1.6m (€1.2m) in the same period a year ago.

Laurence Birch, Datatrak chairman and CEO, said: “Datatrak's solid third quarter results are a direct indicator of the Company’s re-emergence in the marketplace.”

He attributes 'successful execution of the current business strategy' to the 84 per cent rise in the company's gross profit margin, positive cashflows and increased backlog which rose to $11.4m (€8.4m) this year.

Optimistic about next year’s results, Birch said: “We’ve invested heavily in additional resources with the hiring of a VP of Marketing and a VP of Clinical and Consulting Services; these new hires are strategic to our growth plan for 2011.”

Medidata Solutions

The introduction of Software-as-a-Service tools, coupled with professional services that reeled in 47 new customers in the first nine months of 2010, helped boost Medidata’s third quarter profits by 17 per cent from last year, says the eClinical solutions company.

GAAP Operating income for Q3 of fiscal 2010 grew to $6.1m (€4.5m), compared with $2.6m (€1.9m)a year ago, due in large to high product sales as well as a strong level of customer renewals.

Tarek Sherif, chairman and CEO of Medidata, said: “By continuing to realise our vision of bringing new efficiencies to resource-intensive clinical research processes, we generated another quarter of strong customer demand.”

Overall revenue which reached $41.1m (€30.4m) for the period, contributed to the firm's 'record profitability,' contrasting greatly with last year's $35.2m (€26m), said Sherif.

Medidata expects to see revenues between $43 and $44m in the fourth quarter of 2010, with a GAAP operating income of $6 to $7m.

Explaining that the firm gained a strong market position throughout the first nine months of this year, Sherif, continued, “Our focus on product innovation, customer and partner enablement and our ability to articulate an overall vision of helping customers improve productivity throughout the clinical development process is driving our continued success.”

Perceptive Informatics

Parexel's technology division, Perceptive Informatics, reported an overall growth in revenue and profit in first quarter of fiscal 2011.

Perceptive Informatics, which specialises in eClinical solutions, widened its gross profit by 54 per cent to $14.4m (€10.7m) as service revenues grew by 25 per cent to $35.8m (€26.5m) this year.

Despite such positive results for the first quarter, total service revenue from Parexel's contract research services, consulting and marketing businesses and Perceptive Informatics unit amounted to $295.8m (€218.8m) - substantially less than the $300m to $305m (€225.6m) Parexel anticipated in its previous financial report.

This shortfall in service revenue came as a result of project delays and cancellations, including the withdrawals of two clients at the end of Q1.