Under the deal, Quintiles will provide a line-up of experts – named Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs) - who know the ins and outs of getting a product to market in the EU, and "making it a commercial success".
The team are experts in the commercialisation process in a range of markets, including France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom. They will use their knowledge and contact base to promote Delcath's new device, which performs chemosaturation – a method which delivers oncology drugs directly to the liver.
"This agreement gives us a highly professional medical science team in Europe with which we can begin communicating to and educating medical oncologists and liver specialists on the benefits of chemosaturation therapy," said Eamonn Hobbs, president and CEO of Delcath.
Boosting biz in the EU
Quintiles now hopes its program – launched last year – will encourage pharma firms to launch products in the “complex” European market, which is fragmented because of the lack of one united healthcare system.
Laura Wilson, corporate communications manager for the firm, told Outsourcing-Pharma the venture targets companies which may not have the infrastructure in place, or “who do not wish to take on the operational and market-place risk associated with a European launch”.
She added: “Each market has its own complexities which must be overcome in order to achieve successful product launch.
“Companies looking to launch in Europe can benefit from Quintiles’ experience and expertise in each of the European markets, drawing on a fully-integrated service with touch points right across the value chain.”
When asked how the program is so far fairing in the market she said: “We have seen an increasing need for Quintiles expertise in the medical affairs arena, the role of the MSL is seen to be crucial in navigating market entry.
“Over the past 12 months Quintiles has deployed MSLs for a significant number of customers and are increasingly been seen as a provider of choice for multi-country MSL team builds.”